Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the debate and thank the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, for establishing this inquiry. It is a very important investigation which should occur. We are entering the final acts of a saga that started well over 15 years ago in respect of Anglo Irish Bank. I remember that I sat on the Opposition benches over that period and saw this unfolding. It started with the refusal of the then Government to establish a proper Central Bank and financial regulatory structure. We debated and opposed the regulatory structure it was introducing because of its simple refusal to stress-test it to see if it would be fit for purpose to manage the regulation of the banking system. That was blindly ignored and it pushed ahead with inadequately researched regulatory functions, which it forced upon the Dáil at that time. That was followed by repeated refusals to heed warnings issued by the IMF, the European Commission and, indeed, by the stability reports of the Central Bank. Those warnings stated that the model that was being pursued was unsustainable, with the Government relying on a property-based boom, driven by credit, which was fuelling its own revenue sources.

That was amply set out for the Government at that time. What happened then was a terrible tragedy. In December 2008, the Government put €1.5 billion into Anglo Irish Bank and, at that stage, took over 75% of the shareholding. Within a month the Taoiseach came back and assured us the bank was solvent. Therefore, it is hard to listen to Fianna Fáil berating the inadequate supervision of banks by the Department of Finance, when that is the history of how we got to the sorry pass we are now in. It was left to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, to unwind the massive €35 billion burden that Anglo Irish Bank had left on the Irish taxpayer. That is what he has done and he deserves a great deal of credit.

I absolutely agree with those who say we need, in the public interest, to oversee the rollout of the final acts in regard to Anglo Irish Bank. The terms of reference are extremely strong. To be fair, I have sat here listening to Members debating the terms of reference of the investigation. Every time, there is always more and more to be added and, of course, what happens is that the investigations go on for ever and we do not reach conclusions in a timely way, which is what the House wants. There has to be a proper balance and the Minister has struck that balance by talking to the Opposition parties.

It is worth looking again at what is within the terms of reference. First, they deal with the procedures and controls operated by the IBRC in regard to relevant write-offs, so those policies that are at the heart of this debate are going to be scrutinised. Sometimes, when listening to the Opposition speak here today, one would swear there was not a good reason to execute write-downs. Executing write-downs was absolutely essential if we were to help the economy to recover, and this has been at the heart of what we have been trying to do in order to put the banking crisis behind us. We have had to exercise write-downs to allow businesses to recover and continue, and to protect jobs in businesses that can do so.

See this speech in context