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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 7

Written Answers. - Departmental Records.

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

115 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether inquiries and searches made in her Department subsequent to 4 June 1998 have uncovered the existence of any ministerial diaries relating to Mr. Ray Burke's period in office; if not, whether she has inquired if any diaries were maintained during Mr. Burke's period of office; if so, the way in which they came to be missing; whether the absence of records from her Depart ment constitutes a breach of normal procedure; the attempts, if any, made to contact Mr. Burke for an explanation of this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15125/98]

In response to Parliamentary Question No. 98 on 4 June 1998 I informed the Dáil that inquiries and searches made in my Department had failed to reveal the existence of any ministerial diaries relating to Raphael Burke's period in office as Minister for Industry and Commerce from 24 November 1988 to 11 July 1989.

Further inquiries have been made since then as a result of which two diaries relating to the bulk of his term in office, i.e. from January to July, 1989 were located in the Chief State's Solicitors office. It appears that the diaries of a number of former Ministers had been sought by the beef tri bunal and had been retained in the Chief State Solicitor's office ever since. The diary entries for the period from 24 November to end December 1988 have also been discovered in my Depart ment in the diary of Mr. Burke's immediate pre decessor.

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