Secretary General will bring clarity to workings of Department of Justice

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal and Member of the Oireachtas Committee for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Farrell has today (Tuesday), welcomed the decision by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Brian Purcell to appear before the Justice Committee.

“This is an opportunity for the Secretary General to address the severe shortcomings outlined in the Guerin Report. It is a chance for Brian Purcell to shed light on the inner workings of the Department, to analyse where they went wrong and to be progressive in the root and branch reform of the administration of justice in our country.

“Mr. Purcell has been at the helm in the Department for the past three years, he is the most senior civil servant and he is charged with the Department’s day-to-day management and with its non-political strategic planning and direction. I expect he will have a lot to say about the events that have taken place over the past few months.

“The Guerin Report has highlighted that there were severe shortcomings within the Department of Justice and that the Department was not operating as it should be. The report refers specifically to the staff within the Department of Justice. We must get to the bottom of what happened; it would be logical that the senior civil servant would be the one to provide this clarity.

“Last week when Frances Fitzgerald was appointed Minister for Justice and Equality she called for a new era of openness and transparency. This should begin with the Secretary General explaining what happened within the Department.

“I am very pleased that the Secretary General has made the decision to appear before the Justice Committee and I look forward to putting questions to him.”