It is a week since the departure of the former Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, following a visit to his home by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality in which he conveyed the Taoiseach's view that the issue of telephone recordings was very serious. The following morning the Commissioner resigned, retired or was, as is my view, forced out of office. Last Wednesday in the Dáil, the Minister for Justice and Equality stated he "was not briefed on the matter until approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, 24 March 2014 in the Department of Justice and Equality" and "was first furnished with the letter of 10 March from the Garda Commissioner yesterday at approximately 12.40 p.m." He confirmed that, following the briefing on Monday, 24 March, with officials in the Department "on this matter" - whatever "this matter" means, whether the letter or the entire issue - he met the Taoiseach and Attorney General to further discuss the matter. I understand they were joined at that Monday evening meeting by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality. I ask the Taoiseach to confirm if that is the case.

Reading the Minister's statements - I stand to be corrected in this regard - he does not state anywhere that he was not aware of the content of the letter. I would like this matter clarified. Was the Minister made aware at any stage, either before he left for Mexico or at any time before 12.40 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 March, of the content of the letter from the Garda Commissioner? It seems inconceivable that, in a meeting with departmental officials on Monday, 24 March, at which the Minister was briefed about this matter, the Secretary General or another official would not have raised with the Minister the fact that the Garda Commissioner had sent a letter two weeks earlier. Was the Minister aware of, or was he alerted on the evening of 24 March, as to the content of the letter? When he joined the Taoiseach, was the Taoiseach made aware of the fact that the Garda Commissioner had written a letter? Was the Taoiseach made aware of the content of the letter given that it was surely relevant to the discussion?

I ask the Taoiseach to answer these basic questions. Did the Secretary General join the Taoiseach, Attorney General and Minister for Justice and Equality on the Monday evening? Was the Minister made aware of the content of the letter from the Garda Commissioner at his departmental briefing on Monday, 24 March? Was the Taoiseach made aware of the letter at the subsequent meeting he attended with the other individuals in question?

I am assured by the Minister for Justice that he was not so briefed. I can confirm to the Deputy that on the Monday evening I was joined by the Attorney General, the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and the Minister and Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Defence and that there was no discussion at that meeting about the letter or its contents.

Having been informed by the Attorney General the prior evening about these matters I felt that they were of such concern and gravity that I should reflect carefully on them and bring them to the attention of the Government, the Dáil and the Leaders of the Opposition. From that point of view, the Government made its decision to set up a commission of investigation, which is being followed through today in regard to a number of further decisions.

I find the Taoiseach's response incredible and difficult to comprehend. I will read into the record what the Minister said: "I was not briefed on this matter until approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, 24 March 2014 in the Department of Justice and Equality". The Taoiseach said in his response to me that the Minister for Justice and Equality had assured him that he was not briefed about the letter at that meeting. Is that what the Taoiseach is saying?

It is inconceivable that the Minister would have been briefed by departmental officials at 6 p.m. on the Monday about the telephone recording system and would not have been told by them that a letter had been received two weeks earlier from the Garda Commissioner detailing in a reasonably comprehensive manner the background to this issue. What is even more incredible is that the Secretary General who received the letter from the Garda Commissioner under section 41 of the 2005 Act, which is a specific vehicle to facilitate correspondence of this type and gravity - it is not the type of correspondence the Secretary General would receive every week to give to the Minister - is the very man sent by the Taoiseach to the Garda Commissioner to tell him that he [the Taoiseach] and Cabinet Ministers were unhappy about this, even though it has been stated that Cabinet members knew nothing about this. I accept the point made by the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, that the Cabinet did not know about this. The message was conveyed to the Garda Commissioner that the Cabinet was unhappy about the matter and he needed to reflect on it.

Get off the pitch.

The two people who were having the conversation in the house knew about the correspondence. It defies belief that the Minister would not on the Monday evening have been briefed by departmental officials about the content of the letter. The Minister in his speech used words such as "furnished" and "received". What I am talking about is the content of the letter. One could not but be aware of the content of it in discussing the issue of the telephone recordings. The Secretary General was sent to tell the Garda Commissioner to reflect on his position because the Cabinet was very anxious about the matter.

Is the Taoiseach saying that the Minister was not briefed on the content of the letter at 6 p.m. on Monday by his departmental officials?

Section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 states: "The Garda Commissioner shall keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform fully informed of the following...". The letter was sent to the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality. The letter did contain reference to the fact that the Minister should be informed. The section of the Act is clear. Were the Deputy sending a letter, he would send it to the Minister and the Secretary General. The Act states that the Garda Commissioner shall keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department fully informed.

I have read the section.

I am aware of the chronological sequence in terms of the letters sent to the Minister for Justice and Equality between 10 to 24 March outlining all of the events and so on. When I was briefed by the Attorney General on the gravity of what is involved the order for discovery in the Bailey case was due to conclude on the Tuesday of the Cabinet meeting. That order for discovery included the transcripts of a number of recordings which contained serious matters pertaining to the case. The Garda affidavit has now been signed and sent to the other legal team. I then had to ask myself what was the right thing to do. In my view, the right thing to do was to check the validity, veracity and seriousness of the matter, which was done on Monday-----

Without asking the Minister.

-----with a much clearer view being available on that Monday evening. I was clear, because I wanted to inform the Cabinet, the Dáil and Members of the Opposition, that my concern should be communicated to the Garda Commissioner. I advised the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality to communicate that to the Garda Commissioner.

The Secretary General did not inform the Taoiseach that the Commissioner had sent him a letter?

I advised him to communicate my concerns to the Garda Commissioner. I thought that was fundamental given the gravity of what was involved.

He ignored the letter.

What were the Taoiseach's concerns on the Monday evening?

He was concerned about the Cabinet meeting.

Will the Taoiseach respond to my question about the Monday evening briefing? Was the Taoiseach briefed on Monday evening by his officials about the content of the letter?

We are over time.

The letter from the former Garda Commissioner to the Secretary General is now in the public domain. It can be published so that everybody can read it.

Was the Minister briefed about it on Monday?

I can confirm that there was no discussion at the meeting held by me about the issue raised by the Deputy. The question of the importance of the transcription of the recordings in the Bailey case was discussed, which, as far as I can ascertain from the chronology set out, took up most of the focus of the Department of Justice and Equality.

For the Deputy's information, the Government today appointed a commission of investigation.

Perhaps the Taoiseach would answer my question about the briefing.

Sorry, we are way over time. There is a time limit for everybody.

I only asked one question, which was very straightforward.

I will try to be helpful to Deputy Martin. Mr. Justice Fennelly is to chair that commission, which will deal with all matters-----

I did not ask about that.

I am telling the Deputy something that he does not know. Mr. Justice Fennelly will chair the commission of investigation, which will look at all matters relevant to tape recordings of conversations and their retention, to the extent of which we are aware at this point but which appear to be growing in number.

During the course of today's Cabinet meeting, the Minister for Justice and Equality received a communication from the Prison Service indicating that on 26 March it became aware of an anomaly in its system whereby the conversations of a number of prisoners, 84 up to 28 March of this year, who had more than one solicitor in the system, had been inadvertently recorded as they were outside the restriction parameters. The Prison Service became aware of this and took immediate steps to rectify the situation. I have a asked the Minister for Justice and Equality for a report from the Prison Service on how this happened.

The Taoiseach is distracting from the core question.

When was that sent to him? Was there a two week delay in that regard?

In answer to Deputy Martin's question, the Minister for Justice and Equality has assured me that there was no briefing given to him on Monday evening about the contents of the letter.

The Minister received no briefing on the Monday evening from his officials?

He did not see the letter until Tuesday.