Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister's recent substantial move at the Oireachtas finance committee on the terms of reference for the banking crisis commission of inquiry and the investigation into what can be best termed regulatory governance, including auditing. I also welcome the hearings into the macroeconomic aspect of this. This has instilled some confidence that this could be a constructive exercise, avoiding some of the squabbling that has gone on.

It is critical the role of auditors is examined in this whole mess because they have a public function, whether it is in the banks or corporate entities, and they are self-governing. I agree with Deputy Burton on their role as not to be giving advice to companies but to report to the regulators and the public as to the viability, or otherwise, of companies. It is beyond me how the auditors missed so much of the goings-on in the banks. Why did they look the other way? Were they taking their nod from the regulators in the Central Bank or the Cabinet? I would love to know why they thought they could do what they wanted.

Will Ministers of the time in question give evidence, if invited to do so, at the committee's deliberations on the political management of the macroeconomic issues? The committee's capacity would be diminished without this input.

The review of the Department of Finance will be interesting and necessary. I look forward to that report when it is published. I cannot wait to read Mr. Nyberg's CV to see how he has preformed in his career to date.

I welcome the extension of the time to be examined to 15 January 2009. This was necessary as it will now include the decision to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank. It would have been easy for the Minister for Finance to seek to avoid such an extension, so I am glad he came clean on it.

One of our jobs is to examine economic policy. Since 2003 to the banking crisis it was misjudged, to put it mildly. Current government economic policy is equally misjudged in that it does not recognise the need for a State bank. The chief executive officer of NAMA, Mr. Brendan McDonagh told the Oireachtas committee on finance three weeks ago that the banks were not giving him the accurate information he required or co-operating as fully as he would have expected. Although there is provision in legislation for NAMA to pursue institutions or bank executives, it is not happening.

This is creating the perception among many that a golden circle of untouchables exists. Mr. Frank Daly, chairman of the NAMA board, told the committee he was surprised at some of the atrocious findings made when examining toxic accounts in several banks. Why Mr. Daly would be surprised is beyond me because he was chair of the auditing committee and a director of NAMA for some considerable time.

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