Seanad debates
Friday, 4 July 2003
Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments: Motion.
I want to correct something which the Minister very clearly outlined in his script and to which our colleague in the House referred. There was no delay. I was a member of the Cabinet during the period when extra personnel were sought. In the script it is very clearly laid out that there was no delay. Mr. Justice Flood wished to issue his interim report while he was still sole member of the tribunal. He said this himself, I presume in correspondence, and it is a matter of record. The extra personnel were granted within four weeks. I know that, on an issue such as this, a hornets' nest can be raised up very quickly. However, there was nothing in it, and the facts were laid out very clearly. The same is true of the facts of the correspondence, of which we received complete copies. I thank the officers of the House for ensuring we got all the necessary correspondence in those last few very busy weeks, when they were engaged in issues such as these, and the punctilious manner in which matters were attended to.
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