Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I believe this amendment is necessary. The Minster of State referred to the Committee of Public Accounts which, as he pointed out, audits the authority's accounts, resources, systems and procedures. The faults lie not in how it accounts for the relatively small amount of money it spends but in the general economy as a whole. I referred to what Helen Hall, the chief executive, said in her recent address. I draw the attention of the Minister of State to the authority's 2010 report which states, "The Commission finds it unfortunate that sufficient timely and challenging auditor dialogue was not used to influence the banks' business models and lending practices." That is set out on page 3 of IAASA's report. It is its account of the commission of investigation into the banking sector in Ireland. That was stated in the 2010 report and we are now heading towards 2014. There are plenty of members of that committee, not least its chairman, who would have wanted to address the issue that "it was unfortunate that sufficient timely and challenging auditor dialogue was not used to influence the banks' business models and lending practices" before we got into so much trouble.

It was unfortunate that sufficient timely and challenging auditor dialogue was not used to influence the banks' business models and lending practices before we got into so much trouble. What we have has not worked sufficiently quickly. The House is regularly asked to address reports on financial institutions that have failed and to put the burden onto the taxpayer, which has caused so much misery in the country. We are seeking this dialogue in this amendment, which will not happen unless the House wants it to happen, and that is why I put it in the legislation. We have do everything better in this area and I am here to assist the Minister of State in that regard. Had we been more attentive in the past - and by the past I mean any year since 2010, when some of those regulations were written - and had we ventilated these issues, it would have been far better for the country. I am including myself in this. The only accountants I have seen before the finance committee have been the ones seeking further tax breaks in the budget for their clients while hardly acknowledging that we were trying to solve a budget deficit. If we had a surplus, they would be delighted to give us ways to spend it in the interest of their clients. We have not called them to account on these matters and society is the poorer for it.