Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome, as is this Bill. It is straightforward and clear and it is all a question of being allowed access to information. However, I will take this opportunity to raise a related point. Briefly, I am suggesting we try to use this vital information, about which Members are talking, at the most important stage when one can act upon the information possibly to avert a crisis or to save the taxpayer money rather than examining it when it is too late. In the case of those Irish banks that collapsed, had the information being available earlier, much of the banking crisis possibly could have been avoided. One way to ensure that the right people get this information is to install software in banks that has the ability to uncover wrongdoing. If Members' aim is to improve the financial services industry through this Bill, should they not consider such measures?

Some information technology companies now specialise in e-discovery, namely, the practice of examining electronic records to unearth important data and relationships. Another protection is offered by network forensics software, which allows the recording and playback of exactly what happens on employees' computer screens and can even record keystrokes. For instance, one type of network surveillance software provided by a particular software company allows everything from e-mails to electronic calendars to be analysed, thereby building a picture of typical patterns of communications across an organisation's operations. It then flags exceptions to those patterns, such as individuals who send many messages to one another even though they are not in the same unit and have little reason to interact.

Allow me to conclude by stating that in one notable case in the United States, thanks to such software a link was found between several executives at a firm that had been issuing bogus invoices to inflate its revenues. This is not totally unlike the position at Anglo Irish Bank, where members of the board ended up buying shares in the bank to inflate the value.

This Bill is short, succinct and straightforward and I certainly support it. I believe it provides an opportunity to Members to congratulate those members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis and its Chairman, including those who are Members of this House, on the work they are doing, as well as enabling them to continue their work.