asked the Minister for Justice the action he proposes to take in relation to the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Irish Penal Service.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Penal Service Report.
28.
I only recently received the report. It will be examined in due course.
Were the reports in the media quoting the Minister as casting cold water on the report accurate?
I made that particular statement at a particular time in a particular place. I will let the Deputy have a copy of my statement and he can draw his own conclusions from it. I never used the words "cold water".
I know the Minister did not but I have to respect the Chair and be brief. The essence of it is that the Minister in that comment, which he presumably accepts as he has not denied it, appeared to cast cold water on the report. Is he aware that the Commission, among their proposals, suggested on page 61, paragraph 11, a scheme which is precisely the one announced a week later on the front page of the Irish Independent? Will the Minister accept that some of the proposals in this report might well coincide with his own view?
In fairness, the Deputy has to accept my answer as of now that I received the report only very recently. Somebody must have been telling them what I was going to do.