Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Tá ceist agam. I will argue that the Minister is scapegoating Mr. O'Connell and that he will be thrown under a bus for the problems this situation has raised. The Minister is really arguing in her statement that the Government is about to close the stable door now that the horse has bolted.

I will ask about the role of An Garda Síochána. It is usual practice for gardaí to question witnesses and take statements. They should have done so in respect of the EY auditors, who were questioned by Mr. O'Connell himself. In his evidence, Mr. O'Connell stated that the gardaí did not do it because, according to them, they were "flat out" working on other Anglo probes. What were those probes that were more important than this investigation into the activities of Mr. FitzPatrick and his loans? When an Garda assistant commissioner received a letter in June 2015 informing him that gardaí were not involved in taking these statements, why did the Garda not act? Will the Minister admit that the assurance that the Garda will act as the lead in all criminal investigations from now on bears no weight, given its criminal failure to deal with this matter?

I have a question on the role of EY in this situation. Is the Minister's Department or any other still hiring EY, giving it contracts and paying it for reports and advice? EY gave Anglo Irish Bank a clean bill of health just before the crash and the firm was taken on again to give advice and help in investigating the causes of the crash. Along with other elites and parts of the clique of the Irish wealthy and powerful, such as Goodbody, PwC etc., EY is part of the nexus of the rich and powerful, which Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to, who view it as their job to protect one another and their golden boys such as, for example, Mr. FitzPatrick.

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