Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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5. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the details regarding the internal audit of Templemore Garda training college; her views on whether any laws have been found by the audit to have been breached; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that neither the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality nor the Committee of Public Accounts had dealt with this report despite her previous replies that this was the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15949/17]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I raise the issue of the internal audit at Templemore on 9 February. The Tánaiste's reply to me on that day was very dismissive. She told me that it had received full scrutiny at the justice committee. I pursued it and found that that did not happen. I was then told that it had been referred to the Committee of Public Accounts. I was the one who wrote to the Committee of Public Accounts, not the Department, requesting that it receive scrutiny. I want to know why I was told that this matter had received full scrutiny when that had not happened? Why has the Tánaiste not taken the opportunity to correct the record in that regard?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Murphy has asked a number of questions regarding the internal audit. They are serious issues in regard to the governance and accountability in the college and they must be addressed comprehensively.

Some of the main issues of concern highlighted by the report include the manner in which the college was run, the existence of a large number of bank accounts and investment accounts linked to the college and staffing issues.

As the Deputy is aware, the Accounting Officer, for the purposes of the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts, is the Garda Commissioner. The findings have been accepted and there is a series of recommendations that are implemented.

The report has been sent to the Committee of Public Accounts now and an important role also is for the Comptroller and Auditor General. Everybody recognises the gravity of the issues.

On receiving the report, and I only got the report that was published this week, I immediately requested the Policing Authority to oversee the implementation of the recommendations and to report back to me on a quarterly basis on the progress being made.

I have e-mailed the Deputy twice to explain that on 9 February, and I certainly was not dismissive of what she said-----

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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You were.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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-----and I recognise her interest in this issue and that she raised it at the Committee of Public Accounts. I should have referred to the Committee of Public Accounts Committee - because I got a letter from the Committee of Public Accounts - and not the Oireachtas justice committee in my response to her. I made a mistake in that regard. Clearly, there could not have been a full discussion so I am happy to correct the record of the Dáil. I recognise Deputy Murphy's interest in this issue. I had a detailed letter. I was referring to that letter. I had responded to quite a number of parliamentary questions and to a Senator also who had raised it with me briefly in the Seanad. What I had in mind was the letter I had got from that committee. It was not the justice committee. What I was referring to was the Committee of Public Accounts and the Deputy was the person who had raised it. It had written to me, which I am happy to put on the record of the Dáil.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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That falls far short of what I was told here with regard to it having had full scrutiny; it had not. The issues include 50 bank accounts; €125,000 collected from the leasing of farmland by the Office of Public Works that went into the restaurant account; and €400,000 transferred from the bar to keep the restaurant running. We have a right to expect higher standards of the people who are supposed to enforce the law. They are not above the law, and it was for that reason that the article written by John Mooney jumped out at me, so to speak. That is why I pursued it. I should have been entitled to receive an accurate reply and not be dismissed and told that there had been full scrutiny. I read the Tánaiste's replies to the parliamentary questions and the Official Report of the debate in the Seanad. It included one sentence on this in what was a wide-ranging debate. We have to be sure that we can trust the replies we get in this House. The matter will go now to the Committee of Public Accounts and to the justice committee also.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I repeat that I absolutely recognise the seriousness of this issue and the seriousness with which Deputy Murphy regards the issues that have emerged in the report published yesterday. The Committee of Public Accounts, of which the Deputy is a member, will be discussing it fully. We only now have the full report. The issues are very serious, including the existence of a large number of bank accounts and investment accounts linked to the college, staffing issues and issues relating to the ownership and use of certain lands. There is a range of issues that need full scrutiny. The report highlights that those go back a long way. There is a series of recommendations in the new report which need to be implemented. That is why I referred it to the Policing Authority. I want to be sure that these recommendations are now implemented.

Regarding the query the Deputy raises with me, I certainly was not dismissing it. I believe there needs to be a full discussion on this report. That is why I said earlier in the week that it would have to go to the Committee of Public Accounts and that the Comptroller and Auditor General would be examining it also, and I referred it immediately to the Policing Authority once I received it.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Finally, can the Tánaiste confirm that she did not communicate with the Garda Commissioner who is, as she said, the person in charge in respect of this matter, or when dealing with any matters, other than through the official communication channels?

I am referring to things like Gmail, Signal or WhatsApp. Can the Tánaiste confirm that this did not happen?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Yes, I can confirm that.