Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am probably the only Deputy present who voted against the blanket guarantee in September 2008 and its subsequent renewal during the term of this Government. I voted against the guarantee because it was a totally unjustified and economically crazy policy and I feared it would leave Irish people with a large burden of debt for decades to come. I also feared that members of the golden circle of insiders that produced the crash, who are represented in this House by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, would continue to escape the consequences of their profligate behaviour and would be permitted to protect their key assets. My fears are proving to be justified.

Would any future historian draw much of a distinction between the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government that was in office until March 2011 and its Fine Gael-Labour Party successor? The Siteserv and IBRC controversy simply highlights the widespread fire sale of business and financial assets by IBRC, the National Asset Management Agency and other State banks as well as a result of troika diktats issued from late 2010 onwards. The bottom line is that nothing changed after the 2011 election when the new Taoiseach and his Minister for Finance chose to steadfastly persist with the policies of the two previous Taoisigh, Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, and the former Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan.

Deputy Catherine Murphy and her valiant staff have done Irish people an enormous favour over the past year in doggedly questioning the sale of Siteserv in early 2012 and the treatment of high-value customers of the now liquidated bank. I commend the Deputy on her perseverance, painstaking research and great courage in pursuing the major questions raised by her inquiries.

The arrival in this country of vulture funds and various financial sharks from early 2009 onwards raised many worrying concerns for citizens across many sectors of the economy, from commercial property and housing to financial institutions such as Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB. One of these key concerns related to the strange sale of Siteserv. Most people were familiar with the Sierra company, which was heavily involved in developing infrastructure such as the gas network. People looked closely at Siteserv when they realised it was a Denis O'Brien company and had secured a €500 million contract from Irish Water to meter every household. Similarly to other Deputies, I had no knowledge of the Siteserv balance sheet in 2012 and no way of knowing whether the net price of approximately €45 million was a fair return for citizens or a knock-down price that squandered €100 million of State assets. However, articles on the sale published in Phoenixmagazine and The Sunday Business Postwere alarming. While the Siteserv company was seriously indebted to IBRC in 2012, it was a profitable going concern with a workforce of several thousand. We now know that in 2010-11, its sales increased by 11% to €169 million and turnover increased again in 2011-12. I note that an article in the Phoenix argued that with an annualised EBITDA - earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation - of €15 million, the sale price multiple should have been at least six, indicating that Siteserv was worth a minimum of €90 million in early 2012.

Allowing Siteserv management to handle the sale seems to have been a serious error by the chairman and chief executive officer of IBRC. The exclusion of trade buyers from the sale also seems unbelievable. It has also been suggested that a sum of between €90 million and €100 million could have been realised for Siteserv if its important British subsidiary, Deborah Services, had been sold separately, given that the company had been purchased for €60 million as recently as 2008.

I welcome the belated decision of the Government to establish a commission of investigation under section 3(1) of the Commissions of Investigations Act 2004. The schedule of terms of reference appears to be reasonably comprehensive. Nevertheless, I support the proposals made by Sinn Féin and Renua to reduce the relevant write-off limit by 90%. I also welcome the decision to shine a light on the Department of Finance, because a major question mark hangs over the future of the Minister for Finance. Why, in July 2012, did the Minister not order the independent review of the Siteserv sale that Deputy Catherine Murphy had sought for so long? Why did he not at least order the special liquidator to check out the Siteserv sale and similar sales concluded in the two years after the so-called prom night? Why, just weeks ago, did he appoint a company with a clear conflict of interest, KPMG, to lead the review of the Siteserv sale? Given the scale of these errors, a Minister in a similar position in most other European Union jurisdictions would have resigned by now. I call on the Minister to do so, as it is still the right course of action.

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