Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach if he has concerns regarding Government leaks, particularly regarding the Scally inquiry. [37671/18]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he has concerns regarding Government leaks, particularly regarding the Scally inquiry. [39901/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.

The leaking of some information from the Scally report before the women and families most affected could be briefed was wrong. The report concerned a very sensitive issue touching on the lives of women, some of whom are very ill, and of families, some of whom are grieving after a devastating bereavement.

The leaking of this information was not done with any regard for the interests of the families and the women concerned and it frustrated the plans that had been put in place to have Dr. Scally brief the women and families and patients’ representatives at the same time as the Cabinet meeting and ahead of the publication of the report.

The matter is being investigated by a senior official who did not receive a copy of the report in advance of its publication. I do not wish to pre-empt the investigation by attempting at this stage to answer questions that will have to be considered as part of that inquiry.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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When someone in government decided to leak and spin the Scally report, the Taoiseach said at the time he was disgusted by it, and he condemned in very clear terms what had happened. The question remains whether he was sincere in this or whether he is just scared to find a culprit because the culprit could be very much part of a near-permanent obsession with spin in the Taoiseach's Government.

We should be clear about this. The Taoiseach knows, or it should be easy for him to determine, every person in the Government who had access to the report's findings. It appears that it was in the Taoiseach's office and in the office of the Minister for Health. The leaking of the report was unquestionably morally repugnant, given the significance of the issue involved. As the Taoiseach said, it frustrated the objective in the first instance of meeting with the women who have been affected by this and briefing them on the content of the report. It was also a clear breach of the confidentiality of Cabinet documents and official papers.

Would it not have been preferable to bring in an outsider with the power and authority to get to the bottom of what was a callous and cynical attempt at media manipulation? There is no question that the objective was to manipulate the public discourse on the Scally report in advance of its publication. This is not new. Leaks have occurred with a number of reports in order for the Government to get its line out first. When will the senior official the Taoiseach has appointed report to him? It has been approximately six weeks and the person surely has a timeline as to when we can expect a report on the investigation. Did the Taoiseach give any consideration to asking an outsider to carry out the investigation?

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The withholding of information was at the centre of the CervicalCheck scandal, and in the immediate aftermath, information was selectively leaked and drip fed into the public domain. The Minister for Health complained in the House about the manner in which some of that information was being drip fed. In the immediate aftermath of this latest leak the people affected said they were incredibly hurt. They had put a great deal of faith in the Scally report and they had put a lot of themselves into getting to the truth in that report. Can the Taoiseach update us on the current stage of the investigation? My understanding is that a limited number of people had access to the information that somehow found its way into the public domain so it is a little odd that the senior person, given whatever assistance the Taoiseach has provided, cannot identify the person concerned. It is not as if there were multiple copies of this report left lying around so I cannot understand the reason for the delay. Has the Taoiseach identified the person who leaked the report? If and when that person is identified, will he or she be subject to disciplinary action? Can the Taoiseach advise if the Minister, Deputy Harris, was aware of the leak in advance?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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At the outset it is important to state that the report document was not leaked. None of the recommendations appeared in the press, nor did any of the findings. What appeared in the press in advance was one aspect of the report, which was that it was Dr. Scally's opinion that a commission of inquiry was not warranted. None of the recommendations or findings was leaked, only the aspect concerning Dr. Scally's opinion regarding a commission of investigation. Perhaps one could say that one line from the entire report was leaked to the press in advance.

I note Deputy Martin's allegations. He regularly makes allegations in the House without any evidence to support them. He certainly has a penchant for innuendo and conspiracy theories. The report would have been available to more than the Department of Health and the Office of the Taoiseach. It would have been available to Dr. Scally, his team and many of the advisers who assisted him in putting the report together. Deputy Martin's presumption that only somebody in the Government, a civil servant or a politician had access to the report is not the case. Of course, it could have been leaked by somebody who did not have the report at all because all that was leaked was one aspect of it - the fact that it was Dr. Scally's opinion that a commission of inquiry was not required. It could have been done on a verbal basis. As is always the case, unless there is a paper or documentary trail of some nature it is difficult to identify the culprit. Certainly, if the person is identified and if he or she is a civil servant, politician or adviser, the person will be disciplined. If the person is not, that does not fall to me.

The only people who know are the journalists involved. They have been asked for their co-operation. This should not be treated as a normal story and both journalists who know have been asked to co-operate out of respect to the women and families who were upset by this. The only other person who knows is the person who leaked the information.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach cannot try to reduce the significance of this by saying it is just one item from the report. It was a key issue. The Minister for Health had agreed in the Dáil to a commission of inquiry. He came under pressure in the House and for whatever reason capitulated on that evening and said there would be a commission of inquiry. The Taoiseach followed suit. It was significant, therefore, that prior to the publication of the report a steer or spin occurred, the spin being that there was no need for a commission of inquiry. The cynical or sceptical might say that the last thing those in authority and the various stakeholders wanted was a commission of inquiry into this and, therefore, spun in that direction via the Scally report. That is one possibility. A significant element was leaked and I believe it was done for a specific reason, which was to undermine the case for a commission of inquiry. Whether one agrees or disagrees, the objective of the leak was to move away from the idea that there should be a commission of inquiry into the CervicalCheck issue. I speak as somebody who initially supported the Government regarding a Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, inquiry. However, under pressure on the floor of the House, the Minister caved in and said there would be a commission of inquiry. Ever since Dr. Scally has reported the emphasis has been on moving away from a commission of inquiry. That is the context.

Will the Taoiseach name the senior official who is investigating this? Can he give the official's details, rank and his Department? Third, the Taoiseach and I know that the media protect their sources. It is a little much to suggest, given the propensity of Ministers to leak regularly to various senior political correspondents and people across the board, that the Taoiseach is allegedly sincere in wanting them to cough up the source. That is breathtakingly cynical.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has quite a history in the past couple of years of engaging in innuendo and making allegations against people that in some cases turn out to be false. If he has any evidence that any individual, politician, adviser, civil servant or anybody associated with Dr. Scally or his team put this information in the public domain by talking to journalists, I ask him to present that evidence. If he has no evidence, he should not make the assumption that it must have been a politician or a member of the Government. He has no basis for that. It should be basic decent politics in the House that we do not make allegations against each other when we have no basis or evidence for doing so.

When a leak happens, I often wonder who did it. One would presume that the person who did it somehow had a plan or thought to benefit from it in some way. The aspect of the report that was leaked was that it was Dr. Scally's opinion that a commission of inquiry was not necessary. Bear in mind that the Government had made a decision to establish a commission of inquiry and the Government still has no difficulty with doing so. Even the innuendo on this occasion does not make sense.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I asked for the name of the official who is investigating.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has broken the rules enough. He should withdraw-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach is not responding.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I asked a very basic question. Can the Taoiseach give the Dáil the information? Who is leading this investigation? The Taoiseach said it was a disgusting investigation. Is he incapable of telling us who the senior official is?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I did not say it was a disgusting investigation. I said that to leak it was a disgusting thing to do.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, it was a disgusting leak.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Secretary to the Government is leading the investigation.

4 o’clock

Deputy Martin has a really long history of making false allegations in this House against people-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not actually. The Taoiseach said the same one day last week and again the following day.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We are going to move on.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----and of pursuing innuendo and conspiracy theories.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is the opposite opinion in relation to the former Minister, Deputy Naughten.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We will move on to the final group of questions.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin's constant charge against me relates to spin because he has no case against us when it comes to substance.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We need to move on the Questions Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My charge against him is that he is obsessed with innuendo and conspiracy theories.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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You are.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is why the former Minister, Deputy Naughten, resigned.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin has all sorts of conspiracy theories about that too.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It was you who asked him to resign, having told me the day before that it was out of order.