Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacú leis an éileamh atá á dhéanamh go ndéanfaí fiosrúchán neamhspleách maidir leis an díolachán a rinne IBRC ar Siteserv. I support the calls for a full independent inquiry into a number of IBRC transactions, including the 2012 sale of Siteserv. Serious questions have been raised on foot of information that has come from the Department of Finance regarding a number of transactions that were described as "poorly executed". That is a very serious allegation to have put to the board of IBRC. Tensions have been noted between the Department and IBRC for some time and it is acknowledged that the bank got a less than optimum return on the sale of Siteserv. The delay in the release of this information is a cause for concern in itself. It is important that the Minister for Finance should come to the House to discuss the role of IBRC, how it is performing its function, and the relationship between it and the Department.

The Central Statistics Office has indicated that its figures on crime do not include information for the last two quarters because the Garda Síochána has not provided those data. In addition, a report by the Garda Inspectorate points to serious shortcomings in the way crime statistics are recorded, with evidence of under-recording of certain serious crimes and so on. This is an incredibly serious issue which may have implications for cases coming forward. If the information is not being gathered properly, how can we be sure the evidence is being gathered in a proper manner? The Minister for Justice and Equality should come to the House to discuss this matter. We must ensure gardaí have the resources they need and that any decisions on the allocation of resources are not being based on statistics which have been shown to be flawed by the Garda Inspectorate. This is a matter of urgency and we should discuss it as soon as possible. Ba mhaith liom go mbeadh díospóireacht againn leis an Aire Dlí agus Cirt agus Comhionnanais faoi seo chomh luath agus is féidir.