Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I note the very valuable work done by Deputy Catherine Murphy on this. I am in favour of a review of Siteserv and any transactions of equal magnitude that may also be worthy of inquiry. I want to be absolutely clear. I would like to see an independent inquiry by a competent authority, which is the way to get the correct and honest answers on any issue like this. I have heard the suggestions in regard to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts and I am aware that there may have to be a change in legislation if it was to be facilitated. In the past, the Comptroller and Auditor General has played a very valuable role in scoping inquiries and investigations. It is a matter of identifying the best mechanism for a proper independent inquiry by a competent authority. I do not want to rule on that at this point in time because, as the Deputy has said, a certain amount of material has come into the public domain.

The issue of the KPMG report arose in January 2011 during Deputy Martin's time in Government. It concerned Siteserv and was a review of the strategic options for the business and the debt situation vis-à-visIBRC. That was during the Deputy's time in government and I am sure he is probably familiar with that period. In February 2011, there were meetings between IBRC, Siteserv and KPMG to discuss the findings of the KPMG report. Again, I am sure the Deputy would have been fully aware of that, if not then perhaps now, because he was a prominent member of the Government. On 7 March 2011, PWC was engaged by IBRC to review the KPMG report and advise it on debt recovery strategies. I am sure the Deputy would agree that it is necessary to look at the totality of all of this matter.

He raised a number of issues around payments to certain shareholders. Another issue he should take into account is that more than shareholders were involved in this.

There were more than 1,500 people working in the company. Now, after its having been acquired, there are over 3,000 people working in it. I would have imagined that at the time, from the perspectives of the former Government and the current one, a very significant issue would have been not only the shareholders but also people working in the business. I am sure that was a concern of Deputy Martin when he was a Minister.

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