Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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536. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent of consultation that a person (details supplied) had with his Department prior to giving instructions to their legal team representing them at the O’Higgins commission. [46678/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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537. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent of meetings and communications that a person (details supplied) had with his Department prior to them giving instructions to their legal team representing them at the O’Higgins commission; the dates and times of meetings; the communication type; and the attendance and agendas. [46679/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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538. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if persons in An Garda Síochána made a complaint to his Department regarding the manner in which a person (details supplied) gave instructions to their legal team representing them at the O’Higgins commission; and if so, the way in which this is being dealt with by his department. [46680/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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539. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the contact, meetings, correspondence a person (details supplied) or their senior officials had with another person (details supplied) or their senior staff or advisers prior to them giving instructions to the legal team representing them at the O’Higgins commission; and the dates and times of meetings, communications type, attendance and agendas. [46681/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 536 to 539, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will be aware, some aspects of the O'Higgins Commission of Investigation form part of the remit of the Disclosures Tribunal and therefore I am limited in what I can say.

However, it would of course have been entirely inappropriate for anyone to have sought to interfere in any way with the work of the Commission of Investigation. The Deputy will appreciate that it was solely a matter for the parties to the Commission to decide what legal approach to take to the work of the Commission, taking into account the legal advice available to them.

In the circumstances, the Department would have had no role in determining the approach to be taken by the Garda Commissioner to the Commission in question.

Accordingly, there was no question of the Department seeking to interfere in any way with, or to have any say in determining, that approach by the Garda Commissioner.