At a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts at the end of June, the then Garda Commissioner confirmed he had reported to the Minister on the controlled delivery operation that related to the late Evan Fitzgerald and the shocking incident in Carlow. The then Commissioner went on to say that he took note of the comments made by Senator Michael McDowell on 24 June in the Seanad about what was or was not said in the currency of a live bail application, and that he had referred those comments to the Garda ombudsman, Fiosrú, for consideration. On the RTÉ "This Week" programme that subsequent Sunday, the Garda ombudsman confirmed that there is nothing further to be considered by it. I raised this issue previously in July when the Minister, Deputy Chambers, was standing in at Leaders' Questions. He indicated he would raise this with the Minister. My question then and now is whether the Minister considered the matter concluded regarding what was or was not said in that District Court bail application, or the report he received from the Commissioner. Has the Minister discussed these issues with the new Commissioner and does he intend to carry out any further inquiries on the matter?

I am conscious that at present, there are two live issues before the courts in respect of that investigation. One of the associates of the late Mr. Fitzgerald has pleaded guilty so there has to be an issue with regard to sentencing in respect of his plea. Second, another individual, I understand, has not yet made a plea so there could be a trial so I am not going to get involved in the detail of that.

I would make one point. I have discussed this matter with both the former Commissioner and the current Commissioner. We are lucky in Ireland that we have a low level of firearms in this country. If you look at the injuries sustained from firearms in this country, they have stopped recording them because they are negligible. Part of the reason we have such a low level of firearms in the country is because of the work done by An Garda Síochána stopping weapons from coming in. That has to be a central part of its function.