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

We have an issue here. The Taoiseach has outlined costs of €6 million to date. The commission, which was set up to investigate various IBRC transactions beginning with that involving Siteserv, has been in place for longer than the IBRC or the interim body it replaced. The individual transaction of greatest public concern happened over a period of months, but it has now been investigated for a period of years. Every single email, text message and document generated within the IBRC and those approaching it could have been examined by now. The Taoiseach adopted a stance of studied indifference when this was raised in June. The fact is that this commission is investigating a matter of major public, not just Opposition, concern. While the Oireachtas has set the terms of the legislation, it is the Taoiseach and the Government which have direct responsibility for communication with the commission on all matters. This was matter was a political scandal before the last election and it appears that we may go through another Dáil without getting basic answers to fundamental questions.

Has the Taoiseach asked the commission when it intends to produce a substantive report on its core work? Has he asked if it is on target to meet the deadlines under the extensions it has asked for, that is, the time it has given itself? When will the public know an answer to the basic question of whether State assets were sold below value? This is separate to the more contentious issue of who was responsible for this if it happened, and the role which lobbying may or may not have played. As a member of the Government, is the Taoiseach proposing to take any measures to secure extra information for the public in the next few months? Deputy Burton has identified potential future costs and no one has any real notion of when this investigation will end. This is deeply unsatisfactory. We need answers to some very basic questions that were asked about the transaction in question.

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