Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Is the Minister confirming that €4 billion was deposited on 30 September, the day the bank's financial year ended, and hours after the Government's guarantee to the banks was announced? Does the Minister recognise that this will be seen right across the board as an exercise in cooking the books and that another financial institution, Irish Life & Permanent, was knowingly involved as it withdrew the deposit some seven days later?

Is it not the case that Anglo Irish Bank wanted to avoid collapse and to benefit from the State guarantee, used a deceptive financial ruse to achieve this and that the Irish taxpayer has been the victim of that deception? The Minister has indicated he became aware of this before the end of October 2008. A question put to him on 20 January by me and others, when he rose to propose the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank, was specifically about whether there was other relevant information this House should know before giving active consideration to the proposal. The Minister withheld that information from this House. Did he brief his Cabinet colleagues of this detail he is now confirming he was aware of, from October 2008? Did he brief his party? Did he brief the Green Party, and when did it become aware of this? Will he advise the House of the disclosure of this information to each of those elements of Government? Will he clarify once again when the Financial Regulator became aware of this?

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