Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

On 18 December 2008, several hours after the Dáil went into recess for Christmas, Mr. Seán FitzPatrick announced his intention to resign as chairman of Anglo Irish Bank following the disclosure that he had taken out loans of €87 million which, by shifting them periodically to another institution, he was able to conceal from the bank's shareholders over a period of eight years. We have subsequently found out that the total loans he had amounted to €129 million, an astonishing amount of money in any circumstances.

Mr. FitzPatrick says that what he did was inappropriate but that he did not break any law. The Minister for Finance, in his initial comment, expressed disappointment at what Mr. FitzPatrick had done. The Taoiseach will appreciate that the feeling among the public is somewhat stronger than that. Shareholders in Anglo Irish Bank, many of them pensioners, whose savings have been lost, staff of the bank, people who have loans, sometimes for small amounts, and are being followed quite strongly by the banks to pay them back, people who have lost their jobs because of the difficulties in the economy to which the crisis in banking has contributed, and the other banks in which international confidence has declined and which are having difficulty raising money on international financial markets — these people would feel somewhat more strongly about the damage that has been caused by the actions of Mr. FitzPatrick and perhaps others in Anglo Irish Bank.

The Taoiseach has said that problems in banking and the economy are happening in other countries worldwide. However, we see in other countries that wrongdoing is outed and illegality is punished. We see that people who have engaged in wrongful activities or are accused of illegal activities are arrested and, in some cases, are in custody awaiting trial. Members will recall the case of Martha Stewart who served time in jail for what would be regarded here as a relatively minor offence.

The Labour Party, through Deputy Burton, proposed here last week when we were dealing with the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank that a High Court inspector should be appointed to investigate what happened in the bank and in particular the activities of Mr. FitzPatrick. The Taoiseach's Government voted down that proposal. What I want to ask the Taoiseach today is if he can tell the House and the public what investigations are under way into what happened in Anglo Irish Bank. Who is conducting the investigations and when will the public find out the truth about what has happened in Anglo Irish Bank, who was involved in it, if there were illegal actions and if laws were broken? I find it difficult to believe and to understand that laws were not broken. The Companies Act is quite specific and clear that full information is to be made available and that directors have responsibilities to make full information available on their companies' affairs and accounts to their shareholders. I find it difficult to understand how laws were not broken. What I want to establish from the Taoiseach today, and I do not want to do it in any prejudicial way, is what investigations, if any, are under way into what went on in Anglo Irish Bank and the activities of Mr. FitzPatrick and others.

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