Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I am not just referring to the former Taoiseach before he came out of the closet. I am also referring to senior bankers and officials. It angers people when they read reports that because an individual had discussions with a person in the position of Financial Regulator whose competence has been completely discredited, it allows him or her to be immune from prosecution. There is also the issue of the transfer of assets.

When I was a Member of the other House, I asked the then Minister about the transfer of assets. The position is not as outlined by Senator White in that transfers are not occurring secretively. One must register one's property dealings. Many people are simply transferring assets to family members. There is no big deal about it as they are doing it quite openly. One must ask whether there is a deliberate attempt to protect significant assets. I refer not only to the family home but to assets worth millions of euro rather than hundreds of thousands of euro. When I made inquiries about this, someone said to me a two-year rule applies. In other words, if a developer whose assets are being transferred to NAMA and who has given security to the banks on other assets transfers those other assets to another family member, nothing can be done about it after two years.