Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Bill. The points made by the Cathaoirleach when speaking on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group were pertinent. It is a pity that this legislation is necessary and that it was not dealt with in the first instance. When justice is delayed, the lapse of time is a serious issue. We have lost time here but I hope the commission will be focused. I agree with the modular approach; it is appropriate. At least we can get answers on specifics as opposed to a myriad of issues, and we will not have to wait a very long time to get answers.

Senator McDowell made comments about the Ceann Comhairle. When travelling to Clare on Friday evening, I watched the interview with the Ceann Comhairle.To be fair, the question that was put to him on Foynes was a leading one. However, I had expressed concern that if we were to go down that road, it would be perceived to be protecting the powerful and wealthy in society. It is not appropriate but, as has been said, it is up to the other House to conduct its own affairs. I hope this House would never succumb to that type of - to put it in simple terms - penal, schoolteacher-like approach. The Members of this House who exposed the Siteserv issue and other matters have done the State enormous service. It was incredible to see the lengths to which Mr. O'Brien went to silence that. It beggars belief that the Houses of the Oireachtas are being sued by any individual. I noted with interest, and followed very closely, the O'Reilly-O'Brien debacle at Independent News and Media and I learned a great deal in terms of the covert investigations run out of hotels in Dublin. I did not know that went on, although it does not surprise me. Given that the Houses of the Oireachtas have been sued, nothing surprises me any longer. There is a great deal that is rotten in the corporate world in this country and we, as parliamentarians, have a duty to ensure it is rooted out.

When the IBRC liquidation happened, I thought we were looking at an avalanche. The operation was so big that it was probably very difficult to control, especially when the country was in the position of disposing of assets to reduce its debt and exposure. We did not hold our nerve as we should have done. We see now how things have improved. Any schoolchild will tell one that there are peaks and troughs in economics. We were in a very depressed trough at the time, but matters were always going to improve. The people went through a great deal of hardship to ensure the country was brought to a better position. It was a great pity that IBRC, under the direction of the Department of Finance and others, felt it necessary to offload billions of euro worth of assets, not just at home but abroad as well. We panicked and should have held our nerve, but that is only my view. Had we held our nerve and done things in a more controlled fashion, we might not be in this situation now and the commission of investigation might not have been necessary. We are where we are, however, and the Bill is very important. It is vital that it be passed as quickly as possible. If it needs to be amended still further on the suggestion of the commission of investigation that it needs more powers, we should not be found wanting in amending it accordingly.

I thank the Minister for providing an overview of the Bill. It is very positive that there was engagement with the Opposition. That is new politics in reality. This morning, a Senator asked for a definition of "new politics" and this is a clear one. A year ago, there would not have been what my briefing note refers to as "extensive consultation" with Opposition parties. The Opposition would have been given a courteous and short briefing but there would not have been extensive discussions and negotiations. That epitomises new politics and the Bill, when enacted, will be all the better for it. It will facilitate getting to the root of at least some of the problems caused as a result of the liquidation of IBRC and what followed.