Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is the 13th public hearing of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. Today we will hear from Mr. Simon Carswell, author and journalist, on relationships between State authorities, political parties, elected representatives, supervisory authorities, banking institutions and the property sector. This is the first of several sessions on this theme this week. Mr. Carswell is Washington correspondent with The Irish Times, a position he has held since December 2012. Previously he was finance correspondent and covered the banking crisis from 2007 to 2012. He is the author of two books, Something Rotten: Irish Banking Scandalsand Anglo Republic - Inside the Bank That Broke Ireland, a bestseller in 2011. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology, he was also a news reporter and news editor at The Sunday Business Post. He is a regular contributor on radio and television and was named national journalist of the year in 2011 by National Newspapers of Ireland for his coverage of the banking crisis for The Irish Times. He is very welcome to the inquiry.

By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If they are directed by the Chairman to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. As informed previously, the committee is asking witnesses to refrain from discussing named individuals in this phase of the inquiry.

Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.