Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach's response concerning dialogue with the commission of investigation is unclear. The whole idea behind commissions of investigation is to make inquiries quicker and more efficient. We have had five interim reports from the IBRC commission of investigation and it would be reasonable to say that none of them contains anything of great substance. The reports simply provide a chronology of what has been done to date.

Has the Taoiseach written to the commission to say that he is granting an extension until March 2019? Is that what he is telling us? Has there been any response to that, given that the commission requested an extension out to 2020? I attended the aforementioned briefing and fully appreciate the Taoiseach's concerns on this matter. There is a need to ensure that there is a full and rigorous investigation and that the full facts are known but the cost of the investigation is now likely to exceed the total value of the transactions being investigated which does not seem right. Has the Taoiseach had any response from the commission of investigation to his decision to extend its timeframe to March of this year rather than to March 2020, as requested? Will the Taoiseach put his letter to the commission and the commission's response, if any, on the public record?

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