John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

During the exchanges Mr. Kavanagh had with members, he referred to the terms and conditions, an incentive scheme and that his position was terminated. Perhaps Mr. Kavanagh will give the committee a note, without accusations, with some further information.

Will Mr. Kavanagh let us know, as he was doing with Senator O'Donnell, exactly how the general body of people who were tied agents were affected overall? An overall note on that would be useful. He gave us the number of legal cases. How many tied agents are there now? How many are now taking cases? We would like the information on it when we deal with the banks.

Will Mr. Butler fill out a little bit on the three paragraphs that he gave us on the decision taken by EBS? He went on to talk about the banking crisis and so on, and then he addressed the €2.3 billion. Will he give us a deeper sense of the points he is making there?

What I suggest to the members this morning, arising from what they asked, is that we give a right of reply to EBS and AIB, that we talk to the Central Bank and send it transcripts of this meeting, and that we arrange an appropriate engagement with each one, EBS, AIB and the Central Bank, to determine how we can move forward from where we are right now. This is a first meeting to get agreement from members. We have that agreement. They are the steps we will take.

In everything that has been said, I find it extraordinary that neither the terms of reference or the final report ever emerged in the process entered into. In terms of the legal cases and challenges that are there, I cannot help but think that those on the other side of this argument have legal muscle and money, and that might be a way of dealing with it, which is unfair. A bank which has got €2.3 billion is answerable to this committee. The Central Bank and the regulator need to be more accountable than they have been to date. That is my view. The members are anxious that we see more information and that we engage as soon as possible with the Central Bank and AIB.

I thank the witnesses for coming to the meeting today and opening this paragraph of the investigation. I also thank their colleagues, all the tied agents and all the families affected. I appreciate them coming here. We look forward to engaging with them again.