Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

This deal on the toxic ten or golden circle of people apparently familiar with the Fianna Fáil tent at the Galway races was a serious misrepresentation regarding other shareholders, the market and the general public who are carrying the can for this toxic golden circle. Protestations of banker-client confidentiality do not arise in this context and the Minister for Finance, as sole shareholder in the bank, should insist this is so. I draw the attention of the House to section 26 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 which specifies that certain persons, including the chief executive of the Financial Regulator and the Governor of the Central Bank, can be required to attend proceedings of relevant Oireachtas committee meetings and provide the committee with such information as it requires in so far as it does not contravene EU legislation.

On 11 November I had, at my request, a meeting with the then Financial Regulator, Mr. Patrick Neary. I followed this up because I was very unhappy with the outcome of the meeting and the information. By then the information about Mr. Quinn was in the public domain. We now know that throughout 2008 and possibly late 2007 the regulator, the Central Bank, the Department of Finance, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, knew there were serious problems with Anglo Irish Bank. I asked Mr. Neary if he could explain the role of his office regarding these matters, particularly the insurance company and Anglo Irish Bank. On 11 November I was told regarding the Quinn insurance company that a comprehensive and detailed investigation of the matter "was undertaken prior to the conclusion being reached that a fine was warranted". So the regulator and, presumably, whoever he communicated with, knew all about it. When the Government members offered the guarantee in this House they were either fools or knaves because they and their Taoiseach could not have known that there were serious problems in Anglo Irish Bank, yet they chose not to exercise any due diligence.

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