Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 December 2017

Public Accounts Committee

2016 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 3 - Cost of Bank Stabilisation Measures as at the end of 2016
Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Liquidation

9:00 am

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will move on to something else, over which I think there is still a question. Obviously Mr. Mario Draghi is the current President of the European Central Bank, ECB, but he was formerly the Governor of Banca d'Italia. My question relates to the allegations that were made by the then risk manager at UniCredit, Mr. Jonathan Sugarman, who has appeared before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. Mr. Sugarman went to the Central Bank and disclosed some information in his role as risk manager. We have been told that the central banks share a lot of information. They are subsidiaries of the ECB. Mr. Draghi has flatly denied having any knowledge that there was any risk or that he was aware of anything that was disclosed to the Central Bank of Ireland. Yet, in 2010, the then Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, claimed that the Central Bank maintained a close relationship with the ECB. How do we square that circle whereby that information was not shared when it was received? Was it just dismissed? How do we treat whistleblowers? If somebody went to the Central Bank today and disclosed that there was a risk, how would the information be treated? Would it be treated any differently to the way this was treated? Was it disclosed to the Central Bank or would Mr. Carville know that? Is that something that should be pursued with the Central Bank?