Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That depends. I will give an example. If the OPC or the Attorney General's office said that the proposed fine in regulation 3 was grossly excessive or, on the other hand, was not sufficiently punitive to comply with the requirement of dissuasive penalties under EU law, I would have no problem with the dialogue between them being a matter of privilege. If, in the end, the Department says that we increase or decrease the fine and this is where we are, the document in that forum is not privileged.