John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government's handling of the public services card issue and the report from the Data Protection Commissioner has been absolutely shambolic. The report came as no surprise to Members on this side of the House but the Government's response to it has been extraordinary. We have had so many different messages from the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection who went into hiding in the first instance. She then refused to publish the report but subsequently stated that she would do so. However, her Department indicated last week that it would not be in the interests of the public to publish the report. It claimed that publishing would have a serious adverse effect on the ability of the Government to manage the economy. We still have not seen the report. The Taoiseach stated that it will be published today but we have not seen it yet. When will the report be published? The Government has also confirmed that it will be taking a legal challenge in respect of the findings of the Data Protection Commissioner and has cited the Attorney General and outside legal outside in that regard. I ask the Taoiseach whether the Attorney General's report can be published because that would be very insightful, particularly if the Government is going to hide behind it.

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