Rónán Mullen (Independent)

It addresses what Senator Coghlan spoke about. Senator Coghlan and Senator Keane seem to be under the impression that what I am proposing would leave a narrow pool of applicants for these posts. That is not the case. I am with the Minister in terms of widening the pool to include non-serving members of the Defence Forces with the requisite number of years experience practising as solicitors and barristers.

I want to ask a question of the Minister as we are on the issue of openness and transparency. We have been careful to ask questions rather than make statements where we did not have the full facts. I would like to know, as we are discussing this case, whether it ever happened that a Secretary General of the Department of Defence, past or present, wrote any reference for the particular individual whose appointment forms the background to part of this legislation and whether there would be anything-----