Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The one matter on which I can agree with Senator Darragh O'Brien is that he should go to the Garda with whatever information he has in his possession. We all have a duty under section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 to report any impropriety of which we might become aware. In so far as the Senator is aware of some allegation that has been made, it is proper that he is going to do as he intends. Those in the print media will sensationalise matters as best they can, within the parameters of the law, in order to sell newspapers. As politicians, however, we have a duty of care and the one thing we must studiously avoid is being seen to jump on bandwagons. Of course, we are often, and quite typically, accused of doing the latter. Allegations have been made but it should not be further alleged that there is something rotten or wrong with the culture and that this goes to the very top. We should not be impugning the integrity of the board, the chairman or the managing director of NAMA, which is a very important State agency.