Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The reply is very much in line with the reply I received last January. At the end of the day, it is outrageous to think the Secretary General of the Department, from what I can gather, has not seen the ombudsman's report. It is even more outrageous that a junior official would take it upon himself to countermand a decision by a Minister, albeit that it was verbal, to decide to send the case to the Attorney General. Why send it to the Attorney General's office when one of her staff members is on site? What is going on? I acknowledge the Minister of State cannot watch everything that is going on all day, every day but this is an affront to the governance of the Department itself and to the political system that manages the Department. I feel strongly that I must get an answer to this case within a set timeframe. If the Minister of State has the legal advice, I am sure his officials can advise him immediately. I would like him to outline a timeframe in order that I can give this man some peace of mind or are we to wait until he dies before we sort it?