Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the important issue of the IBRC commission of investigation. The report was published on 7 September 2022. I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Justice Brian Cregan. He had a major task in terms of the work involved. The commission was established in June 2015 to investigate certain transactions, activities and management decisions in the IBRC. The commission's terms of reference provided that the first module of its work would investigate the Siteserv transaction, which has been identified as a matter of significant public concern in Dáil Éireann. That has been referred to by other speakers.

The report considers the matters coming from within the commission's terms of reference regarding the Siteserv transaction in a comprehensive manner. It goes through all aspects of the transaction in an extraordinary level of detail and makes extensive findings of fact. One person was vested with carrying out the transaction, but to start in 2015 and end up in 2022 is far too long to wait for a report. I understand and compliment the judge who had to carry out complete works.

The report is 1,500 pages long and quite detailed, and has taken a considerable length of time to be finalised. Among the findings, the commission determined that the IBRC made its decision to approve the sale of the Siteserv group in good faith, something to which many speakers have referred, based on misleading and incomplete information provided by the company. The commission has also determined that it can be concluded that the Siteserv transaction was, from the perspective of the bank, so tainted by impropriety and wrongdoing that the transaction was not commercially sound.

I am glad to hear that the Government has accepted the findings of the commission and believes the report has highlighted unacceptable practices by certain parties during the course of the transaction. I was going to ask whether the Government intends to hand the findings to another organisation, but the Minister of State covered that in his opening remarks when he said it will be given to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Revenue Commissioners, the special liquidators of the IBRC, the Corporate Enforcement Authority, the Central Bank and the official assignees in bankruptcy cases. This is certainly the right route to take.

The commission found that there were two parallel processes during the sale process: first, the above-the-surface sale process organised by Siteserv and its advisers, in which the company chose bidders, evaluated the bids, decided to grant exclusivity to one bid and signed and completed the sale; and second, the below-the-surface process, in which certain events occurred in the course of the Siteserv sales process without the knowledge of the bank. The below-the-surface process meant steps were taken and decisions made in the course of the Siteserv sale process in a manner that was manifestly improper and undermined the integrity of the Siteserv sale process.

The commission made a number of highly critical findings. It determined that it can be concluded that the transaction was not conducted in a manner that was reasonable from the perspective of the bank. The decisions made and actions taken in the course of the transaction were not reasonable from the perspective of the bank. The outcome of the transaction was not reasonable from the perspective of the bank. The commission concluded that the Siteserv transaction was not commercially sound. It stated that the bank could have recovered up to €8.7 million more than the €44.3 million it agreed to accept in the sale. The figure of €8.7 million includes the headline price bid by an alternative bidder for Siteserv, which was €4 million more than the headline bid and could have been pursued. The company agreed a reduction in the sale proceeds of €1.8 million through a working capital adjustment. There is no evidence that the rival bidder would have given the same adjustment. The company did not need to pay €5 million to shareholders and could have obtained their consent to the transaction. The payment could have been between €700,000 and €2.1 million less.

The commission also found that the procedures and controls operated by the IBRC at the relevant time regarding the Siteserv transaction were fit for purpose, although the bank's failure to address a payment to Siteserv shareholders contributed to the bank recovering between €700,000 and €2.1 million less than it might otherwise have received from the proceeds of the sale. The commission found no evidence that any unusual trading on Siteserv shares occurred, which would give rise to an inference that inside information was not improperly provided to or used by any persons. The commission also established the approach taken by the IBRC regarding the setting of interest rates for individual loans and how these decisions were reached, and made no adverse findings.

I welcome the debate today. Taxpayers are the losers. The investigation has happened. In conclusion, I do not believe there is any guarantee that we will not have a commission of investigation down the road. While I welcome that the investigation has taken place and the Government is acting appropriately, it is worrying that there are no guarantees and the loss of money to the public is of concern.