John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will leave it at my next comment on this aspect. The public will be amazed that the Department of Finance did not make even the most basic of inquiries of the ODCE, the Stock Exchange or the Garda into whether the issue was being examined, investigated or inquired into. It is amazing. The witnesses might say that they were not there at the time, that this was not their job or that, statutorily, this was not an issue for them, but the public will not buy that any longer.

What Deputy Catherine Murphy asked in the Dáil was reasonable. This committee should make inquiries, as the issue relates to taxpayers' money. The Department of Finance held the opinion that there was potential for an awful lot of taxpayers' money to be lost, so a review was commenced. It was concerned about an asset being sold for a price that was too small. The very least the Committee of Public Accounts should do is to inquire whether the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement has looked at the matter and whether it is inquiring into it. We should echo what the Deputy asked for in the Dáil Chamber, if the Department is not going to do anything, and take it from there. It is unbelievable that the Department might not be prepared to make inquiries over the telephone, so the committee will have to do so.

I wish to inquiry about Siteserv. As I said earlier, this is the first time the officials from the Department of Finance have had an opportunity to respond to questions regarding Siteserv. They have given written answers to some of the questions we asked and, in many respects, the replies are comprehensive. I will start with the date of the review conducted by the Department, which was a meeting with senior IBRC officials held on 11 June 2012. What prompted the review by the Department? What concern prompted the Department to seek a meeting on Siteserv?