Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the motion to the House and thank Deputy Fleming for tabling it. I also commend Deputy Catherine Murphy for the work she has conducted, which has been very important in bringing the matter to a head and bringing it to public attention. The public has a right to be concerned about how the Government is dealing with this issue. The Government should ensure there is a proper investigation to assess what happened and to give confidence that everything was above board. Unfortunately, the Government has not done this. There is an often used phrase that justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done. In respect of that key principle, the Government is starting off on a very poor footing. Much was made by earlier speakers of the move by the Government to introduce a new operational framework between the Government and IBRC. Many attacks were made on Fianna Fáil and other Members on this side of the House. When speakers become so adamant about shooting the messenger, one begins to understand that they must have a particularly big problem with the message.

In his speech, the Minister for Finance indicated that the revised relationship framework and operational protocol was actually a condition of Ireland's third review under the EU-IMF programme of financial support. Despite all its backbenchers lauding the Government tonight, we see in the Minster's own speech that the rationale for this action was that the EU and the IMF told the Government it should do it. Following the agreement of that operational protocol, IBRC was required to provide certain documentation and consult with the Government on big decisions. We see that it forwarded board documentation to the Government - for example, on 20 and 21 March and afterwards. However, the meeting in which the Siteserv deal was done took place five days before IBRC started providing the information. Again, that raises questions which need to be answered for confidence to be restored.

The Minister, Deputy Noonan, also indicated that he is appointing KPMG, the special liquidators, because, in his words, they are best placed to undertake such a review thoroughly and expeditiously, given their access to all books and records of IBRC. If one was to use that rationale, each company would be allowed to audit itself because it already has its own books. That is no basis on which to decide who should be appointed as an auditor or to conduct an investigation. It defies logic.

At the end of his speech, the Minister said that, depending on the findings of the review, further investigations will be initiated as and if appropriate. What needs to happen from the outset is a proper investigation to restore confidence and ensure that the public interest is served. When IBRC was established it had €30 billion of funds. By the time it was liquidated, there was €13 billion. If there are question marks over each of those decisions, there needs to be a genuine mechanism in place to assure the public and give confidence. Unfortunately, the oft-quoted remark from the Taoiseach that Paddy likes to know what is going on has not been a hallmark of how the Government has conducted its business. We are seeing that again in the Minister's approach to this issue, which is not what the public requires and not what a Government that is genuinely addressing an issue should be delivering.

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