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

There is genuine concern about the length of time the investigation into IBRC's sale of Siteserv is taking. It has been ongoing and there were consultations prior to Christmas on the matter. The fourth interim report received was essentially a statement of process, with no clarity, even on when it would finish its first module. I thought the figure for the estimated cost of completion was lower than €25 million, but I will take the Taoiseach's word for it. However, €25 million is a significant sum of money. Does the Taoiseach have any sense from the commission, from an administrative perspective, when it will complete its work? Have there been legal attempts to undermine the investigation or legal challenges to it? If so, will he elaborate on them?

4 o’clock

We want a factual account of what transpired. Did the taxpayer get value for money in the sale of State-owned assets? Were procedures followed? Were alternatives meaningfully considered? Was the full value received by the State? Given what happened before Christmas and our discussions, and in light of the subsequent engagement between the Department of the Taoiseach and the chairman of the commission, surely there must be some clarity as to the capacity of the chair to complete this investigation before the end of the year.

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