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Vol. 994 Tuesday, No. 8 14 July 2020 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DÁIL ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 14/07/2020A00100Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders’ Questions 752 14/07/2020J00200An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business 761 14/07/2020R00300Appointment of Members of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission: Motion 771 14/07/2020R00500National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) and Provision of Central Treasury Services Bill 2020: Financial Resolution 771 14/07/2020R00800Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions: Motion 771 14/07/2020T00100Ceisteanna - Questions 772 14/07/2020T00125Regeneration Projects 772 14/07/2020U00450Departmental Staff 775 14/07/2020W01250Economic Growth 779 14/07/2020Y00900Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions 784 14/07/2020Y00950Employment Rights 784 14/07/2020Z00300Employment Rights 786 14/07/2020Z01100Company Closures 788 14/07/2020AA00650Covid-19 Pandemic Supports 791 14/07/2020BB00525Covid-19 Pandemic 793 14/07/2020CC00400Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions 795 14/07/2020CC00500Co-operative Sector 795 14/07/2020DD00200Small and Medium Enterprises 797 14/07/2020DD01000Covid-19 Pandemic Supports 799 14/07/2020EE00650Employment Rights 801 14/07/2020FF00425Small and Medium Enterprises 803 14/07/2020FF01025Brexit Preparations 805 14/07/2020GG00600Covid-19 Pandemic Supports 806 14/07/2020HH00300Enterprise Support Services 808 14/07/2020KK00100Financial Provisions (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Order for Second Stage 809 14/07/2020KK00500Financial Provisions (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage 810 14/07/2020YY00300Termination of Ministerial Appointment: Announcement by Taoiseach 839 14/07/2020BBB00100Maternity Leave Benefit Extension: Motion [Private Members] 840 14/07/2020NNN00425Ábhair Shaincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Matters 866 14/07/2020NNN00500Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate 867 14/07/2020NNN00600School Accommodation 867 14/07/2020OOO00550Road Projects 870 14/07/2020PPP00450Marine Casualty Investigations Board 872 14/07/2020QQQ00550Credit Unions 875 DÁIL ÉIREANN Dé Máirt, 14 Iúil 2020 Tuesday, 14 July 2020 Chuaigh an Ceann Comhairle i gceannas ar 2 pm Paidir. Prayer. 14/07/2020A00100Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders’ Questions 14/07/2020A00200Deputy Mary Lou McDonald: I have been reluctant to raise the matter of the Minister, Deputy Cowen, on Leaders’ Questions before today I absolutely accept that everybody makes mistakes, that people learn from those mistakes and that they move on We wanted to give the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine every opportunity to address all of the matters concerned, to draw a line under them and to move on at a time of huge health and economic challenges, not least for the farming community Last week, the Minister had the opportunity to do just that by putting all of the facts on the record of the Dáil in relation to his drink-driving incident but, unfortunately, he has failed to do that We now have an unprecedented situation where a Minister is disputing the Garda PULSE record of a drink-driving offence he was involved in and looking to have that record changed. Last week in his personal statement, the Minister stated he was “conscious that a constant drip feed of new information can be damaging and destabilising” He said it was for that reason he had conducted a full examination of all records that he could obtain Yet here we are a week later and the drip feed of new information continues On 4 July, according to The Sunday Times, contact was made with the Minister regarding the Garda record from 18 September 2016, stating that he sought to evade a Garda checkpoint on the evening of the drink-driving offence. The Irish Times today quotes sources saying the Taoiseach was made aware of these records at the time of this media query, that is, the weekend before last. Can the Taoiseach confirm when he was made aware of the Garda record of the Minister’s attempt to evade a Garda checkpoint? Was he aware of this before the Minister made his statement to the Dáil? Did the Minister discuss with the Taoiseach or seek advice from the Taoiseach regarding his decision to seek to amend the record relating to his 2016 drink-driving conviction? Does the Taoiseach accept that the Minister’s statement to the Dáil was incom- plete, as it made no mention of this Garda record? When did the Taoiseach inform his coali- tion partners about all of this? Has he challenged the Minister on his incomplete statement? Does he accept that a Minister challenging the accuracy or, indeed, the truthfulness of a Garda 752 14 July 2020 PULSE record is a very serious matter? 14/07/2020A00300The Taoiseach: As the Deputy said, the Minister came into the Dáil and publicly admitted that he was convicted of a drink-driving offence four years ago, that he was penalised for that offence and that justice was meted out in accordance with the charge and with the offence that he committed He adamantly denies any suggestion or implication that he sought to evade any checkpoint That is his very strong position He is very concerned that data related to his per- sonal files have found their way to others and he feels that is a very serious issue. Irrespective of what side of the House we come from and irrespective of the issue here, that is an issue that will have to be dealt with at some stage I am aware that the Garda Commissioner has referred the issue to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and it is one we cannot ignore I am not apportioning blame anywhere here, because I do not know how that material left the PULSE file and ended up with various media outlets or others. I do not know how that process happened I spoke to the Minister, Deputy Cowen, the weekend before last and he adamantly denied any suggestion or implication that he would have evaded or attempted to avoid a checkpoint At that stage, when someone says I was told, I believe a newspaper says it told my chief of staff or gave information to my chief of staff, but I cannot work on the basis of the sources of the media I cannot verify without seeing the document myself I had a lengthy conversation last evening with the Minister Early this morning, with the Minister’s permission, I saw the actual document The Minister has made it very clear to me that he wants to pursue both issues through the mechanisms that are available to him to pursue them First, under the data protection process and by way of the Data Protection Commission, he is entitled to seek a correction of that par- ticular record insofar as he believes that it does not accurately convey what transpired or that implications can be taken from it which may not necessarily be the case He is pursuing that Second, he feels the entire issue has become public because of what he sees as illegal procure- ment of the information We now know that is being investigated The Minister feels his rights have been transgressed and undermined in that regard and he believes he is entitled to due process in respect of both issues. He has pointed out to me that when it was first put to him - I think it was by a reporter or the media - he was very taken aback by the suggestion that he had turned away from a checkpoint He was very adamant about that to me That is why he said there was no issue made of it at the time, there was no reference to it at the time and he wants to seek to correct that aspect of it In that context, he was clear to me that he wants to pursue his legal rights and entitlements in that respect I have kept both my colleagues in government, namely, the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Eamon Ryan, fully up to date in regard to my conversations with the Minister, Deputy Cowen, and in respect of the fact that I have seen