Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

If there is an emotion I feel in respect of this it is relief that we have legislation and, it is to be hoped, today or tomorrow, the terms of reference dealt with in advance of the recess, and that we can look forward to Mr. Justice Cregan carrying out the work he stated needed to be done last November in his first interim report. He told us that even with these pieces in place, it will still take until the end of next year to complete this module. A very large amount of work is involved and work had been ongoing up to now to narrow the focus. Clearly, the terms of reference have been narrowed substantially and the Siteserv module will be front-loaded. I share some of the concerns about further modules but we will wait and see what happens.

There is also a nod to a general report on the principles and policies within IBRC and interest rate setting. I would have liked to have seen a far more detailed investigation into the practical application of interest rates to specific borrowers but that is a matter for another day. It is not ideal but I hope the general report may lead to subsequent models of investigation delving deeper into the application of the various rates depending on individual cases. The freedom of information documents I received revealed that Department officials had serious concerns about the poor execution of some very large transactions. For example, Blackstone, an American company, was brought in to price and value assets. It was then allowed to purchase those assets. That kind of practice is incredible. Other transactions like Topaz also featured.

I am concerned that we have not yet managed to address the shortcomings in the regulation of the Irish Stock Exchange, despite my raising the matter throughout the establishment of the commission. There was a spike in share dealing in Siteserv in advance of its sale. Last Sunday, Colin Coyle's piece in The Sunday Timesonce again highlighted the flaws in the regulation of the Stock Exchange. My concerns revolved around the unusual share activity in Siteserv in the months and weeks leading up to the sale. According to Colin Coyle's piece, the Stock Exchange had noted the activity as suspicious and yet declined to refer it on to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

The information held in the Stock Exchange is very deficient. When I asked the Stock Exchange to investigate, it sent me to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. I was then sent to the Central Bank and so on. It was a merry-go-round. I still have serious questions around that area on which serious work needs to be done. Such work may require legislation or an institution may need to be nominated to properly regulate the sector.

The terms of reference are very much directed at scoping out Siteserv as a bellwether in the context of the relationship and practices within IBRC and an attempt to get to the bottom of what the Department called decisions of questionable quality regarding a number of significant large transactions. I voted in favour of the terms of reference when they were put in front of us last year.

In hindsight, we should learn something about the scoping-out of inquiries in advance because clearly a very large piece of work is needed. I have read all three of the interim reports and a very large volume of material has to be examined. This is the first inquiry of its type that has dealt with the financial sector and I do not think it will be the last. We have to learn some lessons and narrow the focus in order that we get timely results.

I do not think we can have accountability if we do not have transparency. The parliamentary questions process, whereby Deputy Doherty, I and others received replies, was very deficient. There needs to be a game change in that area in terms of answering questions in a complete way. I trust that the Cregan commission will endeavour to provide answers in this model and into the future. I am sure the report and recommendations for further modules will have to be brought before the House when that work is complete. I wish the judge well. A sizeable amount of work will be done.

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