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

Can I just touch on one other issue as well? It was something at the start of the meeting with Deputy Higgins with regard to capital gains tax and also the issue of the, kind of, legacy matters arising from IBRC in that the low rate of capital gains tax between 2011 and 2014 attracted a lot of foreign buyers into the Irish property market. And we've also heard recently from Mike Aynsley and Alan Dukes of IBRC - former Anglo - that the Department of Finance asked them on numerous occasions to accelerate the disposal of assets. That happened while capital gains tax exemptions were in place. Without referring to specific transactions, can you confirm whether or not you were aware of this pressure being exerted on IBRC and, if so, can you comment on the reasons why the Department was trying to realise assets more quickly than the agreed disposal timelines, given that the substantial disadvantages that would have resulted as I've exampled - lower capital gains tax income, substantial gains made from these purchases made between 2011 and 2014 would flow into foreign countries and lower recoveries as the market improved substantially through 2013 into 2014?