Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

Following consultations with the Opposition parties by the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, the IBRC commission of investigation was established in June 2015. The commission is entirely independent in its work and Mr. Justice Brian Cregan is its sole member. The commission is required to investigate certain transactions, activities and management decisions at the IBRC. In its first module it is investigating the Siteserv transaction which has been identified as a matter of significant public concern in Dáil Éireann.

Deputies will recall that following determinations made by the commission that banker-client confidentiality and legal professional privilege applied in relation to certain documents supplied to it, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, invited views from the Opposition parties on the issues arising and, following consultations with them, the Commission of Investigation (IBRC) Act 2016 was enacted by the Oireachtas in July 2016. The Act is bespoke legislation which gave a new legal basis to the commission’s investigations. Deputies will also recall that arising from issues raised by the commission, its terms of reference were also amended by the Oireachtas in 2016 following consultations with the Opposition parties.

Following requests from the commission and further consultations with Opposition parties, the timeframe for the commission’s report has been extended on several occasions. On 23 November 2018, the commission submitted its fifth interim report to me and requested a further extension of its deadline for reporting until the end of March 2020. I consulted with Opposition representatives on this request and there was a shared strong concern about the level of progress achieved by the commission to date, the timeframe now proposed for concluding the first module of the commission’s work and the risks of further delays and cost escalations. It was agreed to request a further interim report from the commission under section 33 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. This report should include any interim findings or conclusions which the commission is in a position to make at this stage; any options which the commission believes would reduce the timeframe and-or cost for production of a final report on the first module of the investigation; the commission’s view of risks to completion of the first module of the investigation within the requested new timeframe, that is, the end of March 2020; and the commission’s best estimate of the likely final costs of the first module. I also extended the commission’s timeframe until the end of March 2019. A decision on any further extension of the commission’s timeframe will be taken, in consultation with Opposition party representatives, after the interim report has been received.

From the time of its establishment to the end of 2018 the commission spent approximately €5.065 million on direct costs, including salaries, administration, overheads and its own legal counsel. The commission has not provided any estimate of the third party legal costs incurred to date but they are likely to be substantial and it would be prudent to assume the final cost of the commission could exceed €30 million.

See this speech in context