Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

Well done.

I thank Deputy Perry for his contribution, which encapsulated the essence of our motion, and I thank all other contributors from Fine Gael and elsewhere in the House.

The reason we tabled this motion is simple. Two excellent reports have been published but, as the Minister of State mentioned earlier, they are scoping reports. They are not conclusive. Within these scoping reports, a couple of things come to the fore. The Government is not responsible for everything; however, what we have been hearing from various Government spokespersons is that it is responsible for nothing. We now need to establish a commission of investigation that has credibility, is independent, and deals with all the issues so that the public can have total confidence in the findings. According to the draft terms of reference provided by the Minister for Finance to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, the commission will deal with the area of banking and the advice provided to the Department of Finance about financial regulation. However, the one element that is missing is that of macro-economic policy. The Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Honohan, is on record as saying the Government makes policy, while the Central Bank and officials such as himself implement it.

We have suggested a certain number of items that need to be dealt with by the commission of investigation in addition to those specified by the Government. It should deal with macro-economic Government policy between 2005 and 2008, including the official advice provided to the Minister for Finance. It should also deal with tax incentive schemes. One topic missing from the scoping reports is the motivation that was behind the decisions made by the then Minister for Finance, which is critical. The Minister sits down with advice from his officials, which we need to see. Klaus Regling has stated that it is good that such information is available in many other countries. What were the sources of the advice based on which the Minister made his decisions?

The one criticism I have of both reports is that the Minister for Finance during the period under scrutiny, who is now the Taoiseach, was not interviewed. It is like "Hamlet" without the prince. The terms of reference should also include the bank guarantee scheme. Professor Honohan stated that the scheme was necessary but he was critical of the wide coverage of the scheme, including subordinated debt, which has resulted in the imposition of additional cost on the taxpayer. Within the report, Professor Honohan stated that the records of meetings that took place at the time the guarantee was established were "sketchy". As Deputy Connaughton said this evening, if a farmer was trying to obtain a grant he or she would have to provide many long documents; yet the most monumental financial decision in the history of the State was accompanied by sketchy records. We are entitled to know what was discussed and decided.

We must find out what happened, why it happened, who made the decisions and whether all advice was considered. The chairman and management of Anglo Irish Bank, who appeared today before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, stated that Anglo Irish Bank will cost the taxpayer a minimum of €24.5 billion.

See this speech in context