Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is incredible to listen to the Tánaiste talk about the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and its claim about insider information, making the point that it is between the chairperson and a shareholder of INM. He fails to understand that the information passed between those two individuals came from the individual now sitting beside him. It was the Minister, Deputy Naughten, who provided that information to the lobbyist acting on behalf of INM who provided it to the chairperson who provided it to the senior shareholder. Does the Tánaiste want to ignore that fact? The number one priority he outlined in his policy document during the Fine Gael leadership contest was rebuilding trust. He published with it a Bill to establish an anti-corruption and transparency commission.

The Taoiseach, in his policy document, stated transparency and accountability on the part of those in positions of power are essential to good decision-making and public confidence in our system of government. So much for the promises from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste because what we have here is not a new style of politics, and it is not about new leadership. This stinks to the high heavens of the old style of politics. This is about the old boys’ club. The Tánaiste cannot still stand here and say the conversation his Minister had with the lobbyist on behalf of INM was wrong. He continues to dispute the fact that the ODCE said the information is potentially inside information. Does the Tánaiste have full confidence in the position of the ODCE? His former Minister for Justice and Equality said it was not fit for purpose. What statement will the Tánaiste make? Is he just turning a blind eye to what is blatantly obvious to all of us, that is, that the Minister provided commercially sensitive information to a listed, traded company during an acquisition process?

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