Top civil servant 'not optimistic' about finding who leaked mother and baby homes report

Martin Fraser was before the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to explain when Katherine Zappone’s name was communicated to the Department of the Taoiseach for appointment as UN special envoy

Martin Fraser, the secretary-general of the Department of the Taoiseach, was before the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee.
Picture: Photocall Ireland/GIS

The country's top civil servant says he is "not optimistic" about finding out who leaked the report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to a Sunday newspaper before it was published.

Martin Fraser, the secretary-general of the Department of the Taoiseach and the State’s highest-ranking civil servant, was before the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee today to explain when Katherine Zappone’s name was communicated to the Department of the Taoiseach for appointment as UN special envoy.

Mr Fraser was asked if he had been tasked to investigate the leaking of Ms Zappone's appointment. He said that he had not. 

He said that he had been asked to look into the leaking of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes in January. 

Cabinet agreed to investigate the leaking of the report to the Sunday Independent two days before the report's publication.

"I was asked to investigate that [mother and baby home report] leak. And to be honest with you, I wish people wouldn't leak from Cabinet, of course I do. 

"However, I was asked to investigate that, but I haven't been able to find out who did it, and I'm not optimistic."

He said he was not in a position to say that this Government has a problem with leaking, but said there have been 'two, possibly three' investigations into leaking in his term in his job.

Mr Fraser told the committee that the appointment of Ms Zappone "wouldn't have registered as a big thing" with him as there were other issues being discussed at the July 28 cabinet meeting.

During his questions and answers session, Mr Fraser told Sinn Féin's John Brady that the memo outlining broadly the appointment of ambassadors, including himself as the next ambassador to Britain, had been circulated the Friday before cabinet, but that one containing the names of those to be appointed was not sent out until the Tuesday. 

He told Mr Brady's colleague Sorca Clarke that there was a "robust, old-school" process followed in handling paperwork going to Cabinet.

Mr Fraser told Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon that the appointment of Ms Zappone "looks like a big thing in hindsight" but was "foreign affairs business".

He told the committee that his appointment as Irish ambassador to Britain came about as he is 'too young to retire' and was due to be transferred to another civil service job. 

He said that with Covid-19, he would have been leaving his role in the Department of the Taoiseach in January and this was seen as unfeasible. 

He said he had discussions with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath for many months.