Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are a lot of detailed questions there. Following consultations with the Opposition parties by the former Minister for Finance, the commission of investigation into IBRC was established in June 2015. Mr. Justice Brian Cregan, a judge of the High Court, is the commission's sole member. In November 2015 the commission made a determination that banker-client confidentiality and legal professional privilege applied in respect of certain documents supplied to the commission. The commission also requested a number of changes to its terms of reference. Views from the Opposition parties were sought on the issues arising and, following consultations with the parties, the Commission of Investigation (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) Act 2016 was enacted by the Oireachtas in July 2016. The Act is a bespoke piece of legislation giving a new legal basis to the commission's investigations. Following consultations with the Opposition parties, the terms of reference were also amended by the Oireachtas and now provide that in its first module the commission will investigate the Siteserv transaction, which has been identified as a matter of significant priority for Dáil Eireann. The commission is entirely independent in its work and I have no information on the status of its investigation to date. Last December, following a request from the commission and consultation with Opposition parties, the timeframe for the final report on the first module of its investigation was extended to the end of this year.

At the end of January, the commission had spent just over €3 million. This figure includes salaries for the commission staff, legal fees for counsel engaged by the commission and the commission's administration requirements. The figure does not include significant third party legal fees and costs that have been incurred and that will arise for payment in due course. In its fourth interim report, which was laid before the Oireachtas in December 2017, the commission did not make any estimate of the likely cost of the first module of its investigation. During consultations with Opposition parties last November, the Department provided a tentative estimated final cost for the commission of between €20 million and €25 million. This is based on the current rate of expenditure, the extended timeframe for the commission's work, the risk of further delays and the significant third-party legal and other costs that will arise. This is a reminder to all of us as to the costs to the taxpayer of commissions of this type.

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