Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is evident today from the comments from both sides of the House that the leaking of the report of the expert group is a grave matter. Will the Leader ensure the matter is investigated? The reason I say that has nothing to do whatever with partisan politics. The person who leaked that report held a privileged position in the State. The State invested confidence and a particular status in that person and in the confidentiality to deliver a report after due process to the Cabinet, but the person who leaked it made a deliberate decision to usurp the Cabinet and to usurp the powers of the Oireachtas. The Members of the Oireachtas have a mandate from the people to act on their behalf on all matters, but this is a particularly important social matter. In fact, the person who leaked that report committed, to my thinking, a subversive act against the State and against the people of the State. The bottom line is this: that report was leaked to contribute to a particular agenda, which was to ensure Members of the Oireachtas could not have an orderly debate on and consideration of this report. The intention obviously was to stampede the Members of the Oireachtas into making a knee-jerk reaction on one of the most important issues facing us in the history of the State. Both sides here have asked for a calm debate. Both sides in this House have asked that we keep to the subject matter, but it is definite that whoever leaked the report did not intend doing that. Whatever the outcome of the report, the debate has been contaminated. At this stage, the outcome is also contaminated, and that is how serious this issue is.