Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the sale of State-owned assets by IBRC and the inquiry into their sale, in addition to the difficulties and obstacles that have now been identified by the chairman of the inquiry and as revealed in The Sunday Business Postvia a leak of some sort. The issues are very serious, and the Taoiseach will recall the background to them. The sale of Siteserv to a Denis O'Brien-owned company at a loss of €119 million to the taxpayer was the prime catalyst for the initiation of the inquiry into that deal and other deals about which it subsequently emerged senior civil servants in the Department of Finance had concerns. It is fair to say the Government was dragged kicking and screaming to the stage of establishing an inquiry. There was reluctance and, indeed, a refusal to answer parliamentary questions. The concerns of the senior officials in the Department of Finance were forced into being released through freedom of information requests. The doggedness and tenacity of Deputy Catherine Murphy are to be commended in that regard. All along, there was reluctance.

KPMG, the company that advised on the sale of Siteserv originally, was asked by the Minister for Finance to conduct the inquiry, incredible as that now seems. Eventually, with all the opposition, he capitulated and handed it over to the Taoiseach who appointed Mr. Justice Daniel O'Keeffe. A month later, Mr. Justice O'Keeffe had to withdraw for personal reasons and Mr. Justice Brian Cregan was appointed to the chair. This week we learned that the Taoiseach was alerted last Thursday or Friday that there were major obstacles. Today, the judge is saying to the Cabinet that he cannot proceed with this inquiry.

It is a litany of incompetence at best and maybe a degree of convenience as well. The Government thought it might have parked all the controversies some time ago, but it is extraordinary the degree to which it seems impossible to get any information or any inquiry going concerning the sale of Siteserv and other issues.

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