Dept sends whistleblower statement to Gardaí two years after getting it

The Department of Jobs says a witness statement from the tax evasion whistleblower has now been sent to Gardaí.

The Department says the statement has been forwarded to the Bureau of Fraud Investigation, almost two years after it was written by whistleblower Gerry Ryan.

Mr Ryan's dossier on alleged tax evasion, sent to the Public Accounts Committee last week, accuses Minister Richard Bruton of refusing to pass on the statement.

However, the Department of Jobs says the statement needed to conform with certain legal requirements before it could be sent to Gardaí, and blamed the delay on staff shortages.