Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Respectfully, the Tánaiste just talked around all those questions for the entire time of his reply. I asked him how Mr. Watt's position can be tenable and whether the Tánaiste or the Government intends to take any action to make him accountable.

Another aspect of this whole fiasco is deeply troubling. In April of last year, Mr. Watt refused to appear before the finance committee to discuss the matter, so the committee had to seek compellability powers from the Oireachtas to force Mr. Watt to appear before it, which it ultimately received. The clerk to the committee then had to write to Mr. Watt asking if he would appear voluntarily given that those powers were available to the committee, and it was only then that he agreed to appear before it.

If senior civil servants refuse or have to be forced to appear before Oireachtas committees, why should anybody else be willing to appear before a committee? I wonder if the Tánaiste thinks that this kind of disdainful treatment of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, which is there to hold people to account on behalf of the public, sets a good example for other civil servants.

As far as I know, the Civil Service accountability board, which is chaired by the Taoiseach and on which the Tánaiste and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform sit, is supposed to hold Secretaries General and assistant secretaries to account. I am wondering when was the last time this accountability board met. Will Mr. Watt's conduct by reviewed by it?

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