Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I know the report has gone to the Attorney General. That was not the question I asked. I asked about a conflict that arose when we posed the same broad question to the same Department on two occasions and received two different responses. In 2013, just before the trial commenced, the Department was made aware that the documents had been shredded. I am sure the same information went to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Would we have had the longest running criminal trial in the history of the State if they had had that information?

I asked the Taoiseach for specific information. The reply to the question I posed in 2013 stated that resources would be provided if requested. I compared that reply with the one Deputy Shortall received when she posed the question in 2013. She had to follow up the reply with other questions on how many staff were in place and when staff numbers would be augmented. It took until last year before the office had its full complement of staff. That is two years, which is a long time. I asked the Taoiseach a specific question on how he could resolve this conflict. That is an issue in its own right, irrespective of a report going to the Attorney General. We had a Department telling us two different things. Both answers cannot be right because they are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Will the Taoiseach address that issue, please? Does he believe he was misled by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement?

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