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

Yesterday, I asked the Taoiseach a number of questions about the inquiry into the sale of Siteserv and other State-owned assets by IBRC. He did not answer the very basic question I put to him, namely, why the Department of Finance refused to waive its rights regarding the documents it sent to the commission of investigation. I asked the Taoiseach if it was his position that no officials in government knew anything about this until last week. He stonewalled and did not answer the question. We have learned from the judge's statement published yesterday that the Department of Finance knew about this matter long before last week. In fact, the Department of Finance sent legal submissions to the commission of investigation citing and claiming confidentiality over the majority of its documentation. The Department of Finance was also aware of the position of the special liquidator, KPMG, in asserting confidentiality rights over all of the documents requested by the commission regarding Siteserv. According to page 13 of the judge's report, the special liquidator has asserted a duty of confidentiality over all of the documents. The report was sent to the Department of Finance by the judge.

When can we get a bit of truth and simple honesty on this? When did the Minister for Finance find out about this? Is it the position of the Taoiseach that Department of Finance officials knew about this matter since August and September? It appears from the judge's document that they knew about it definitively by early October, but told nobody in government. The Department of Finance said it got legal advice. Could the Taoiseach tell me who gave it that advice? Was it the Attorney General or external legal advisers?

I refer to the role of the special liquidator, KPMG. It was originally the adviser to the sale of Siteserv.

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