Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not interested in weak, secret investigations that produce nothing. What the people want is that justice be seen to be done. An inquiry is one element and a criminal court case is something else. The State structure of the Garda, the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, and the Director of Corporate Enforcement has done the preparatory work. Charges have been levelled against a number of individuals and books of evidence have been prepared and produced. I understand that the criminal case will go to court some time early next year.

The inquiry cannot do that, nor was it ever intended to do that. However, I believe it is appropriate that the Oireachtas should have at its disposal a proper parliamentary committee of investigation to deal with what the public wants to know, which is how all this happened, who met whom and why decisions were taken in that manner. These are matters of public interest and whether it is an inquiry such as described by the Deputy or a parliamentary inquiry, it cannot deal with what people would like to see in this case which is that if there are people of criminal intent who conducted criminal activity the court system should be brought to bear and the court should make its decisions to deal with those people under the law.

To be honest I do not wish to have anything to do with ten year investigations that will make lawyers millionaires and bring nobody to account. We should move through the parliamentary system. This is the people's House. We should set up a properly structured and properly resourced parliamentary inquiry to get on with the work it can do. It cannot do work that will put people behind bars as it is the criminal law and a judge and jury that convict people who might be brought before the courts.

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