Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am at a bit of a disadvantage in answering these questions because it is an independent commission under Mr. Justice Cregan and I am not in charge of it. Rather, I am just the Minister named in the Act and, therefore, I do not know, nor can I know, many of the answers to the questions that people are asking. I have extended the commission's timeframe until the end of March 2019 and requested a further interim report on the items I mentioned, namely, any interim findings or conclusions which the commission is in a position to make at this stage, any options the commission believes would reduce the timeframe, cost or both for production of a final report in the first module, the commission's view on the risks to completion of the first module of the investigation within the new requested timeframe of the end of March 2020, and the commission's best estimate of the likely final cost in the first module. That is essentially what the letter contains and I have no difficulty putting it into the public domain unless there is some legal reason as to why I cannot do so. If I have received a response, I have not yet seen it although I do not think there has been.

The costs are an estimate drawn up by my officials. In November, I indicated that the tentative estimate of the final cost of the commission would be between €20 million and €25 million, given the rate of expenditure. The commission's timeframe for reporting has been extended, at the risk of further delays and the significant third party legal costs that will arise. The commission has not provided its own estimate of the total costs, which are likely to rise from the first module. As I said in my reply, I have asked it to provide me with its best estimate in the interim report.

See this speech in context