Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

On the points the Taoiseach made on the moneys allocated for tribunals, a sum of €4.2 million is allocated in the Revised Estimates by the Taoiseach's office. There are serious concerns with regard to the expenditure of taxpayers' money with negligible oversight and controls. Only last week, I got a response from the Taoiseach's office in which it admitted there are no controls over the length of time or costs incurred by the Commission of Investigation into the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC. I also asked the Minister for Finance that question. The Minister did not answer and the Ceann Comhairle informed me that the Minister for Finance had no responsibility in this area. The Taoiseach knows that the commission of investigation was established in 2015 during a serious political crisis. The commission was tasked to investigate serious decisions by the IBRC, most notably the sale of Siteserv to Denis O'Brien with a write-down of approximately €119 million. Other serious questions were discussed at the time around a surge in share dealing that happened just before that sale and the issue of shareholders getting about €5 million in dividends for a company that was basically insolvent. That commission of investigation was due to deliver the first report on its first module in 2015.

It was meant to cost about €4 million in total but in the latter half of 2020 the first of 38 modules has not been completed. In the last week the commission asked for a further extension of three months. The cost of this module alone is expected to top out at about €14 million. The former Taoiseach estimates that the cost of the whole investigation will exceed €30 million. Several senior analysts reckon this is only half the story. The cost may exceed €70 million. The commission is investigating a write-down of €119 million, meaning that its costs are expected to be between 60% and 70% of the value of what it is investigating. This shows that something is radically wrong with the process. We have form in this country for tribunals that run way over time and over budget. We need to see some control over what is happening.

We in Aontú want to see justice. We want to see the commission get to the heart of what happened with decisions by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC. We are calling on the Government to get to grips with these runaway costs. The Taoiseach might not be able to answer now, but perhaps he can send me answers to the following questions. How many tribunals, public investigations and commissions of investigation are currently in process? How long has each of these been underway? When are they expected to conclude, what costs have they incurred so far and what is the expected cost of each one on its conclusion?

I would like to touch on the barrister's expenses listed within this document. There has been a 14% increase in legal costs. Is that simply because more cases are being taken, or is the State being far too generous with its money? The Government has spent €8.4 million on trying to stop Apple paying the €13 billion it owes to Irish citizens. This expenditure by the Government, coming when the country is on the precipice of an economic tidal wave, is two fingers to many people in the State. Spending that amount of money trying to stop taxes being paid rather than trying to help citizens with the difficulties they have at the moment shows what are the priorities of the Government. Rather than fiscal prudence, spending €8.4 million trying to stop Apple paying its taxes is a form of fiscal self-harm.

In the few minutes I have left I wish to raise the issue of the unit for a shared island. Irish self-determination should be a critical objective of this Government. It is one of the most practical elements of the development of this country's future. Decisions made close to the people are better decisions because people can affect them and hold the people who make them to account. People in Ireland, North or South, cannot hold the decision-makers in London, Brussels or Berlin to account. We need more self-determination on the island of Ireland. We know in practical terms that a lack of self-determination in the North of Ireland has led to economic ruin. The North was one of the richest and most productive parts of this country for hundreds of years, but with the lack of attention from London since partition the North has become an economic backwater. It has suffered radically in the last several years. Self-determination and Irish unity should be practical objectives of this Government. There is also a justice to Irish unity, justice that was known to many generations of Fianna Fáil members who were not afraid to say out loud that they supported it. The Taoiseach spoke about the need to reach out to unionists. I believe that we have to reach out to unionists, but we should not be afraid to make a strong case for self-determination and Irish unity as well. Instead we see a wishy-washy shared island unit which has yet to be formed and is apparently to function on fresh air.

Interestingly, the Taoiseach talks about the dangers of taking the majoritarian approach to constitutional change. The Good Friday Agreement is based on a foundation of majoritarian decision-making. If the Taoiseach does not agree with that, he does not agree with the Good Friday Agreement. In the minute left, I ask the Taoiseach to reaffirm his commitment to the future of Ireland depending on majoritarian democracy.

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