Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The next correspondence is Nos. 436 and 443C from Bibby Financial Services Ireland relating to our engagement on the 2019 financial statements of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, on Tuesday, 9 March. No. 436 is a letter to me as Chairperson of the committee, dated 10 March, and No. 443 includes a request for updates relating to the letter. Part of the discussion on 9 March concerned Bibby Financial Services Ireland because it is in receipt of funding detailed in the SBCI financial statements. No. 436, the letter from Bibby Financial Services, makes a number of points arising from that discussion and as the company was not represented at the meeting and, therefore, did not have the right of reply, I believe it is appropriate that the committee should note the following points that were made in the letter: Bibby states that it has at all times operated in accordance with the terms and covenants of its agreement with SBCI and in compliance with all other regulations in Ireland. Bibby states that none of the funding it received as part of its agreement with SBCI has been used by the Bibby Line Group or Bibby Financial Services' UK business. Bibby strongly refutes any suggestion that it has operated in an unlawful way at any time or has acted outside the terms of its agreement with SBCI. Bibby states that it has undergone rigorous due diligence and audit processes on a number of occasions with SBCI and has met all requirements on all occasions. Bibby states that it is proud of its role in supporting the Irish economy and that it has made more than €600 million available to Irish SMEs since 2018. I propose that we note and publish No. 436 and advise Bibby accordingly. Is that agreed? In the correspondence advising Bibby of the decision, I will inform Bibby about the option of making a submission under Standing Order 711 in the event that it is unhappy with the way in which the matter has been dealt with. In relation to SBCI, the secretariat is compiling the questions that members have submitted for it to respond to. I understand there are currently more than 30 questions and we will consider these at our meeting tomorrow. We are seeking a lot of information from SBCI regarding this. As has been outlined, there are more than 30 questions to be put. I remind members that when we talk about an entity or body that is not present, we should be careful regarding our legal requirements. I will open it up to the floor.