Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

When Deputy Brian Lenihan became Minister for Finance, who told him about the difficulties arising from the overhang of the Quinn shares? The Taoiseach said earlier this week that the Minister was advised after he became Minister. Was the advice given by the regulator, the Central Bank, his departmental officials or someone else? If it was not the regulator or a message conveyed from the regulator via other sources, why was it not the regulator? The Taoiseach said that the regulator had become aware and the Central Bank had advised the Taoiseach on 17 March. That date became referred to in the popular media as the St. Patrick's day massacre as a result of the plummeting in value of the Anglo Irish shares. The Taoiseach was told when he was Minister for Finance. If the Taoiseach read the newspapers he could not have missed the St. Patrick's day massacre as it was such an outstanding event.

Who told the Minister for Finance and what has been the role of the regulator? The regulator seems to have had a central role in unravelling the difficulty of the Quinn share overhang. Therefore, how can the regulator be investigating the unknown circle of ten millionaires who got loans of €30 million from Anglo Irish Bank, without recourse for the shares, to prop up the share price of the bank? This is one of the events at the heart of the international shredding of our reputation. I ask the Minister to explain this to the House so there is some clarity about what happened.

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