Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis

Nexus Phase

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

So we now commence our next public hearing with Mr. Dermot McCarthy, former general ... Secretary General, Department of the Taoiseach, and Secretary General to the Government. The Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis is now resuming in public session. And can I ask members and those in the public Gallery to ensure that their mobile devices are switched off? The ... as ... at our session now this evening, we will commence ... or hear from Mr. Dermot McCarthy, former Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach and Secretary General to the Government. Dermot McCarthy served in the Department of Industry and Commerce and at the Department of Health, where he rose to the level of assistant secretary general. He was appointed as Secretary to the Government in January 2000 and combined that role with Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach in July 2001. He retired in June 2011. Mr. McCarthy, you are very welcome before the committee today.

Before hearing from the witness, I wish to advise the witness that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect to their evidence to this committee. If you are directed by the Chairman to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and you continue to so do, you are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of your evidence. You are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. And I would remind members and those present that there are currently criminal proceedings ongoing and further criminal proceedings are scheduled during the lifetime of the inquiry which overlap with the subject matter of the inquiry. The utmost caution should be taken not to prejudice those proceedings. Members of the public are reminded that photography is prohibited in the committee room. To assist the smooth running of the inquiry, we will display certain documents on the screens here in the committee room. For those sitting in the Gallery, these documents will be displayed on the screens to your left and right. And members of the public and journalists are reminded that these are documents and that they are confidential and should not publish any of the documents so displayed.

The witness has been directed to attend this meeting of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. You have been furnished with booklets of core documents. These are before the committee, will be relied upon in questioning and form part of the evidence of the inquiry. So if I can now ask the clerk to administer the oath to Mr. McCarthy please.

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