Senior civil servant 'should appear before Oireachtas Justice Committee'

Pressure is increasing on a senior official at the Department of Justice to appear before the Oireachtas Justice Committee.

Brian Purcell, Secretary General at the department, has come under scrutiny over the length of time it took to pass on to Justice Minister Alan Shatter a letter from the former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan expressing concern over the practice of recording phone calls at Garda stations.