Extraordinary reports are emerging of a High Court case held earlier this week about the payment of money by contractors to criminals to secure protection at a housing scheme, in this case, a social housing scheme. The details are extraordinary and the reports read like something from a mafia documentary or "The Sopranos". A message must be sent from this House that there is zero tolerance of any such behaviour. As I am very conscious that the case is before the courts, I will not delve into the details of it. However, if the Tánaiste has not done so, I suggest he do so to get a sense of the absolute madness of what is going on.

There are political ramifications for the sharing of information on these cases within government. What we know is that Dublin City Council states it did not pay out any council money, but one of the builders says they were advised by a Dublin City Council official to pay criminals. The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, was informed of this by Deputy Ó Snodaigh and says she passed on the information to the Garda. She has not said, however, whether she passed it on to the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who said the first he had heard of it was yesterday. We also know, as of this morning, that the office of the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, was informed of the case and that an acknowledgement was issued that the letter had been received. She did not, however, follow it up with a meeting. Again, this suggests there was knowledge in government of a problem at Dublin City Council and that nothing was done about it.

In September 2016 the Evening Herald carried a front page story about the issue. It led with the headline, BLOODBATH MOB GUARD COUNCIL SITE. The Tánaiste was Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in September 2016. Did he not follow up on the story? Is this common practice within the local authorities? Has the Government done anything in the past 48 hours to get a sense from Dublin City Council of what is happening and what went on? Does the Tánaiste think it is appropriate for Dublin City Council to carry out its own investigation, or should the Government appoint an outside investigator to get to the bottom of the matter?

What is going on at the heart of Government? Ministers are not exchanging very important information with one another. Surely the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, who seems to have history with the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, on other developments, should have brought the case to the attention of her political colleagues also? Surely, given the engagement the Minister and the Minister of State have had on other housing developments, opportunities were presented to her to raise the issue with the Minister to bring this practice to his attention. One would imagine the issue would come up in discussion in planning for and the financing of social housing.

Will the Tánaiste to reflect on these questions and give me the up-to-date position on the Government's understanding of what was revealed in the case?

Contributing financially to criminality of any kind should never be condoned in any circumstance. Although it was, in fact, private contractors who paid funds to the individuals concerned, I appreciate that issues were raised in the proceedings in respect of Dublin City Council officials. It is a matter for the council to investigate fully the role of its staff in the matter. The council indicated in a press statement yesterday that it was arranging for an independent investigation to be carried out into all aspects of its involvement in the matter. My colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has stated he was not aware of the issue. He has publicly condemned any such practice and asked that the investigation be conducted quickly. Both he and his Department are following developments closely. The outcome of the investigation will inform further actions, if needed. The Minister has also spoken to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, about the matter.

At this point the new homes concerned have been built and are largely tenanted, with the final tenants expected to move in in the coming days. I understand why Deputy Calleary would have questions, but we are trying to establish what happened and when, who sent emails to whom and what action was taken as a result. As the then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, I can say there was certainly email correspondence with the Department of Justice and Equality through various email traffic routes. My office was cc'd in some of that email traffic, but the first I heard of the issue was yesterday. We are now trying to establish the communication lines for the email traffic, but one thing is clear: the concerns expressed and accusations made were matters for An Garda Síochána. The then Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, responded comprehensively to Deputy Ó Snodaigh who was raising the issue and confirmed that it was a matter for An Garda Síochána, that an investigation was ongoing and that if people had concerns, they should talk to the Garda about them. I have the email in front of me. Because of the accusations made and their seriousness, we need a completely independent investigation by Dublin City Council to establish exactly what happened and when and who knew what in order that we can be sure we understand what happened and that it will not happen again.

The Government, not Dublin City Council, needs to appoint a completely independent investigator. The Tánaiste has confirmed that his office was cc'd in an email. Will he state the date on which this happened? The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, also needs to become involved because the payment of this money is absolutely not on and never was. Unfortunately, it has happened. Is it happening in other parts of the country and on other contracts, either housing contracts or other local authority or State contracts? Are contractors being advised informally or formally by State or local authority employees on the need to pay this money? How endemic is the practice within the State system? The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, needs to become involved and find out. The case raises issues for Dublin City Council and the way in which the Government has handled the matter. When will it be in a position to publish the full chain of emails and notifications received by various Ministers and outline the full sequence of acts that followed?

They are fair questions, but all I can give the Deputy is an honest assessment of what I know. I only learned about the issue yesterday and, to be honest, only focused on it this morning when I asked for the email traffic into and from Ministers' offices and so on. As I said, Deputy Ó Snodaigh raised the issue. The email he sent was cc'd to a series of people. He did not copy it to me, as the then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, but when one of the people who received the email, in Co-operative Housing Ireland, responded to him, my office was cc'd in that email. I am trying to establish what happened in that regard, but what I know for sure is that the then Minister for Justice and Equality sent a comprehensive response to the Deputy. She was the appropriate line Minister.

This was an illegal act. Intimidation was going on and serious concerns were raised legitimately by colleagues in this House. Yesterday was the first I heard of it and we will now follow the trail of who knew what and when, as well as the responses. The appropriate Minister responded and this is a Garda matter. With regard to the extent of this activity, I certainly hope it is not common practice on other sites. It is something for An Garda Síochána to deal with.

On Christmas Eve 2016, my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, sent correspondence to the Garda; the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald; the then Minister of State with responsibility for communities, Deputy Catherine Byrne; Dublin City Council and the current Tánaiste, who was then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. The correspondence related to the construction of 73 social housing units in Cherry Orchard and informed the Tánaiste and the rest of the recipients that construction had halted on the site following a sustained campaign of intimidation, with building site workers and security staff under threat. He stated it was clear that the intimidation has been orchestrated by criminals who had vowed that no work on any Cherry Orchard site would go ahead unless they get the security contracts or receive moneys from the builder. He continued in the correspondence to the Tánaiste and others by stating:

It is my firm belief that if this work does not progress then we are condemning Cherry Orchard to a future of dereliction and abandonment. No homes or services will be built until this criminality is comprehensively tackled.

Although he made clear that extra Garda resources were essential and requested a meeting before the new year, my colleague received no response from the Tánaiste to the correspondence.

On 5 January 2017, Deputy Ó Snodaigh again wrote to Co-operative Housing Ireland, Dublin City Council, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, the then Minister of State with responsibility for communities, the Garda and the Tánaiste in his former position of Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. The correspondence was directly addressed to the Minister. Deputy Ó Snodaigh informed all recipients that matters had escalated, with criminal elements setting out conditions of commencement of construction works, with the Garda and Dublin City Council both aware of it. He again requested a meeting with the Minister for Justice and Equality, the local superintendents and others to ensure the site would not be compromised and that the demands of criminals would not be accepted. He requested that a Garda task force be set up to ensure work on the site could commence without workers, security staff or the Cherry Orchard development being held to ransom by criminal demands.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh stated in his letter that he was of the firm belief that if there was submission to the demands of these criminal elements, there would be contagion, not only for other sites in Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard, but throughout the city as word of capitulation would spread. On 13 January 2017, more than two weeks after my colleague's initial letter, the then Minister for Justice and Equality declined a meeting, with no response from the Tánaiste in his then role of Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government or acknowledgement of either letter sent to him directly.

On Tuesday, approximately three years after my colleague's request for engagement with the Departments dealing with housing and justice, as well as the Garda, the High Court was told that Dublin City Council either paid or instructed contractors to pay protection money totalling more than €500,000 on three separate sites, including the Cherry Orchard site. The Criminal Assets Bureau has stated that a council official arranged payments, with the council denying the allegation. We have heard the court has opened an initial investigation but that does not go far enough. We need to know what others knew and why so many, including the then Minister for Justice and Equality and the current Tánaiste, did nothing despite being warned of the intimidation against site staff by these criminal elements as early as 2016. That was before over €500,000 was paid.

The current Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has stated he only learned about this the day before yesterday. The Tánaiste, however, was informed about this by Deputy Ó Snodaigh on Christmas Eve 2016, as well as on 5 January. The Tánaiste also received a letter from Housing Co-operative Ireland stating that it agreed with the concerns of Deputy Ó Snodaigh and his request to meet the Tánaiste and other Ministers to take on this issue. We have now learned that criminal elements have been paid €500,000 from the public purse. Will the Tánaiste explain to this House his inaction on this serious matter?

The matters raised by Deputy Ó Snodaigh were serious and he got a detailed response from the Minister for Justice and Equality of the time, as it was an issue pertaining to justice. I will read the response, which was detailed. It is not true to say she refused to meet people but rather there was an ongoing Garda investigation. The then Minister stated:

I am advised by the Commissioner that gardaí are pursuing a thorough investigation of the incident in question and are engaging with all relevant parties with a view to facilitating the safe return of contractors to the site.

I understand that following local protests, construction work had been temporarily suspended to allow for discussion of the issues in dispute. While gardaí encouraged all parties to resolve their differences, there was continuing opposition when works resumed and it was at this juncture, on 19 December, that the shocking petrol bomb attack took place. I am advised that Dublin City Council, quite understandably, felt it was necessary to suspend work on the site.

I am further advised that local Garda management has instituted a specific crime prevention initiative, with regular patrols on the Oranmore Road, Cherry Orchard and Croftwood areas, including the construction site. I also understand that a meeting has been arranged for today, Friday 13 January, between local gardaí, Co-operative Housing Ireland, Dublin City Council and the security firm which is contracted for the construction project.

With reference to the suggestion that criminal elements may be attempting to extract protection money, I am advised that gardaí have not received complaints to this effect. Needless to say, I would urge anyone who may have relevant information to support such a serious criminal allegation to provide full details to the Garda without delay.

In view of the foregoing, An Garda Síochána is clearly the most appropriate authority to deal with the present situation and, especially as a Garda investigation is ongoing, I do not feel that a meeting between us would be appropriate at this time. You will appreciate that it is not open to me to intervene in particular Garda investigations.

This was a Garda matter and the then Minister for Justice and Equality responded quite comprehensively on the matter. As of this morning, I am trying to understand the response that did or did not come from my previous Department and the reasons. If the matter had been raised with me, I would have raised it with the Minister for Justice and Equality, which would have been appropriate. I do not recall doing so as the matter was not raised with me. All I can do is give the facts as I understand them at this point. We will understand more as the investigation takes place.

The matter was raised with the Tánaiste when he was the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. We have the email from Christmas Eve 2016 and it is addressed to the email address of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. As there was no action arising from that, a further email was issued on 5 January, again address to the Minister. A letter from Co-operative Housing Ireland was addressed to Deputy Simon Coveney, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, and it stated how it would like to join in asking the Minister for any and all assistance. The Tánaiste mentioned the response from the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald but there was absolutely no response from the Tánaiste, who was then the Minister with responsibility for housing. We now know from what is happening in court that €500,000 was paid to these criminal elements from the public purse because of what happened when the housing development was built in this area.

The Tánaiste has said there was a comprehensive response from Frances Fitzgerald. She spoke about a Garda investigation into the attack on the JCB, which was absolutely appalling. Deputy Ó Snodaigh raised the matter with the Tánaiste and Deputies Frances Fitzgerald and Catherine Byrne, in their role as Ministers, as well as the Garda. We have correspondence indicating that on three occasions, the Garda was informed about this. This was not investigated and no action was taken by any Minister in response to attempts at extortion from this company. We now know the money was eventually paid through Dublin City Council.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh offered to meet local gardaí and the Minister in person to provide further information but all this fell on a deaf ear. The Minister for Justice and Equality stated that the Garda did not receive any complaints but we have correspondence to the Garda that demonstrates it was aware of the matter.

I want assurances from the Tánaiste that the House can be satisfied this is not happening on any other building site.

As Deputy Ó Snodaigh pointed out, that would lead to contagion. He is not the only Sinn Féin Deputy who has raised this issue or similar issues in Dublin city with the Garda relating to extortion.

The Tánaiste to respond.

Unfortunately, the Government is not making the appropriate response to this matter.

I do not dispute much of what the Deputy is saying. Deputy Ó Snodaigh did good work here and raised issues that were genuine. What I am saying is that I was not aware of it. If I was, I would have raised it with the Minister for Justice and Equality. I am not saying emails were not sent to my office. I am trying to understand what happened in this regard. However, I am also saying that the appropriate response was from the Minister for Justice and Equality. This is a Garda issue, and was a Garda issue at the time. That is what I read out in the context of the response that the Tánaiste at that point, Frances Fitzgerald, made. I am not disputing that this a serious issue. It was raised and sent to my office. We did not respond to the Deputy, as far as I am aware. That is because I was not involved. Whether I should have been is a different issue, but I did not have this issue raised with me and, therefore, I did not speak to the Deputy or respond to him. The issue was responded to by Government and by the appropriate Minister because these are criminal allegations and have subsequently proven to be very serious.

The Deputy asked whether we can provide assurance that this is not happening on any other sites.

The Minister for Justice and Equality refused to meet the Deputy.

We have to move on.

But she explained why. If there is an ongoing Garda investigation-----

On a separate matter. He actually said there was no allegation of extortion.

I read into the record what her official response was and why it was made.

The Deputy asked whether there is contagion on an issue like this onto other sites. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government will, of course, ensure that is not the case.

The Tánaiste will have to conclude. I call Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan.