Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Before I start attacking him I, too, extend my sincere best wishes to the Minister for Finance and his family at this difficult time.

The Government's proposal is a whitewash before the inquiry even starts. What we are being offered are some token clippings in the form of the proposal to have a presentation by the Governor of the Central Bank. While Professor Honohan enjoys the respect of all Members of the House, that is not enough. We are also offered further token gestures in the form of some level of scrutiny at the beginning of the process and the process of an Oireachtas committee. The involvement of a committee of the House is not sufficient to get to the bottom of what transpired. The real business will be done by a commission.

A number of questions arise regarding the proposed commission. Who will be appointed to it? We know its members will be hand picked by the Government and will, in all likelihood, be highly sympathetic to the Government. We are expected to believe, however, that the commission will be independent and produce a warts-and-all report. I do not believe it will do so.

On the issue of cost, why not have an Oireachtas committee carry out the inquiry? Given that this is our job, why would Members not take off their jackets, roll up our sleeves and get stuck in to producing a proper report on the events of the recent past? There is no reason we could not do so. An Oireachtas committee would have further advantages in that it would be efficient, cost effective and would not produce a whitewash report as it would operate on an all-party basis. Is the reason that it might not bring in the result the Government would want published, particularly if it were to report close to an election period?

Credit control is one of the issues an inquiry would have to address. We know about the 120% mortgages which were provided as many Deputies are dealing with people in their constituency offices who were unfortunate enough to receive one of them. At the time such mortgages were available, I called for a cap of the order of 90% to be placed on mortgages. It was clear, however, that no one would listen to my proposal.

We know about the inappropriate lending practices in which the banks engaged. A few months ago, a plasterer came into my office and told me that four years ago, when he was 50 years old, he secured a 20 year mortgage. A 50 year old man in the construction sector was expected to work and pay a mortgage until he was 70 years of age. This is but one example and Deputies will be aware of many similar cases. Recently, for example, I asked a man who came to my office with similar difficulties how he had managed to secure such a large loan. When I asked whether his bank had required him to produce paperwork, he replied that he was not asked either for paperwork or evidence of income. All the lenders wanted to do was lend money and then wait and see.

One of the critical reasons the Government has not proposed to have an inquiry carried out by an Oireachtas committee is that the Taoiseach was Minister for Finance during a substantial part of the period in question. That is the real obstacle to an Oireachtas committee carrying out the investigation.

The Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr. Paul Appleby, appeared before the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment this afternoon. In response to a number of questions on Anglo Irish Bank, Mr. Appleby indicated that approximately one third of his staff were involved in investigating the bank. This is a huge waste of resources which should never have occurred in the first instance and with proper governance and correct Government policy, it would not have occurred. It is a scandal that money is being wasted by having public servants investigate Anglo Irish Bank.

Mr. Appleby also stated he had no idea when his office's investigation will be complete but that it would be at least a number of months before it is even near completion. The Garda fraud squad is also carrying out investigations at significant cost to the taxpayer. The problem is due to downright bad policy and poor governance which are also evident in the proposal contained in the Government amendment to the motion proposed by the Labour Party on Private Members' business this evening. The investigation proposed by the Government is a whitewash before it even starts.

We have seen examples of how business is done in the United States. We had, for instance, the sight of those involved in wrongdoing in Enron being marched away in handcuffs. While it may be becoming a cliché, justice is done quickly whereas in this country it clearly depends on the scale of corruption involved. If one robs a few cents, one will go to jail but if one robs several million euro one will not go to jail. On the contrary, one will be given a golden handshake and a large pension into the bargain to make sure one is tucked away in comfortable surroundings for a considerable period.

Deputy Ó Caoláin reminded me of a case involving a constituent of his, a woman who swiftly ended up in prison because she was unable to repay a meagre credit union loan. If she had worked for Anglo Irish Bank or another one of the scam banks which operated throughout the period in question, she may have been given a large loan. We are all aware of the household names who were involved in substantial, grossly illegal transactions and are now enjoying their golden handshakes and substantial pensions.

It is reasonable to have expected the Green Party to have had an input into this proposal, perhaps by acting as a watchdog when the terms of reference for the inquiry were being set. I would love to be in government with the Green Party because at every test it has proved to be a walkover. One need only consider what it did in the case of the National Asset Management Agency. Before the recent budget Green Party spokespersons informed us they were concerned about education. What did the party do for classroom assistants? As every Deputy will be aware, cutbacks are under way in this area. What about the cutbacks inflicted on people with disabilities as a result of the Green Party assisting the Fianna Fáil Party in government in everything it does? The party caved in again on the proposed inquiry.

Notwithstanding the position of the Green Party, my party will insist on an open and accountable inquiry which should be anchored in an all-party Oireachtas committee with proper scrutiny powers. I commend the Labour Party on its Private Members' Bill to be tabled this evening which provides the foundation for such a process. It is a pity that this laudable legislation is being hijacked by an amendment that does not meet any of our requirements.

On an issue raised by Deputy Gilmore, why will the inquiry only address the period until September 2008? The deposit guarantee was introduced at the end of that month and Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised in January last year. Why will this period be excluded from the investigation? What is the reason for the wording of the Government amendment? It raises substantial concerns for me and my colleagues. I have no faith in what is offered. It is a whitewash before it begins. While there is still time, I invite the Minister to award the establishment of this inquiry to an Oireachtas committee charged with getting to the bottom of this carry-on. That should ensure the dreadful policies of this Government will not be repeated. The people of this State pay the price for those policy failures every day and perhaps their children will too, because of the debacle called NAMA. I hope the Minister will consider turning his policies around, ensuring such committees are established and conducting open and accountable business in this House.

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