Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

221. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the statement made by former Public Interest Director at Anglo Irish Bank, Alan Dukes, that decisions about evidence to be given to investigations into the banks were made at board meetings and that minutes from those meetings were made available to his Department and the Central Bank, if he will state, categorically, that those minutes did not contain references to recorded phone conversations of bank employees; if he will also confirm whether members of his Department read the minutes of the bank's meetings; and if he is satisfied to stand by his statement that his Department was unaware of the tapes made at Anglo. [34299/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

225. To ask the Minister for Finance if the minutes of all board meetings held at Anglo Irish Bank following its nationalisation, and subsequently the minutes of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation board meetings are a matter of public record; if these minutes will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; or if these minutes have been seized as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into events at Anglo Irish Bank. [34303/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

272. To ask the Minister for Finance the papers relating to and furnished to directors at Anglo Irish Bank board meetings provided to the Department of Finance or the Central Bank following the bank guarantee in September 2008; if these papers referenced the existence or content of recordings made at Anglo Irish Bank on employees' phone lines; if the papers make reference to the Gardaí requesting these tapes; and the dates the papers were received. [34943/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 221, 225 and 272 together.

As the Deputy will appreciate a vast quantity of information in relation to IBRC was provided to and held by the Department of Finance on a monthly basis as part of its normal engagement with the bank these included monthly management reports, financial and other presentations, internal and external auditor reports, external advisor reports and monthly Board papers which frequently extended to hundreds of pages. In relation to the Board packs specifically these were provided to the Department on a monthly basis since August 2011. Officials from the Department of Finance monitored this information extensively and relied on it as part of their on-going engagement with the bank.

The Board papers would have contained many references to the efforts being made by the bank in dealing with the legacy issues relating to Anglo Irish Bank and INBS and also the on-going compliance with all investigations into the bank. These would have included the various documentation and other requests received by the ODCE, GBFI, CARB etc. in the context of their investigations. As indicated in my response to Parliamentary Question No.220 on 2nd of July last, IBRC provided the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation audio recordings in respect of 18 employees of the bank whose lines were recorded in 2010.

Neither I nor my Department have any role in the on-going Garda or other regulatory investigations into Anglo Irish Bank or any other Irish Bank. It would be completely inappropriate for the Department of Finance to act outside of its legal powers and interfere with any investigation that could compromise potential future criminal or civil investigations by the bodies responsible under statute.

As the Deputy will be aware all debts owing to IBRC remain due and enforceable following the liquidation of the bank, in that context I am advised that the minutes of the board meetings of IBRC are not a matter of public record as they contain a large amount of material which could be considered legally privileged or commercially sensitive even following the liquidation of the bank.

However this documentation will obviously be available to any banking inquiry which may be set in the future. The Government is determined to ensure the public is informed about what happened in Irish Banks and has published the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill which, once enacted, will provide the legal framework for such a banking inquiry to be held within the current constitutional parameters.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

222. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the admission from former Public Interest Director at Anglo Irish Bank, Alan Dukes, that he was aware of the existence of the Anglo tapes, that he had been briefed on the content of the tapes and that he did not see fit to inform the ongoing investigations into Anglo, the Central Bank or the Government of the tapes. [34300/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

224. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that after admitting he was aware of the content of the Anglo tapes, former Public Interest Director at Anglo Irish bank Alan Dukes did not see fit to suspend and investigate the employees recorded on the tapes following his appointment as Chair of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation in 2010. [34302/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

226. To ask the Minister for Finance his views that, in his role as Public Interest Director at Anglo Irish Bank, Alan Dukes should have informed Nyberg banking commission of the existence of recorded phone conversations in Anglo and made those tapes available to them. [34327/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 222, 224 and 226 together.

I am satisfied that Mr Dukes in his position as public interest director from December 2008 and later as Chairman of IBRC has cooperated fully and openly with all on-going investigations into the bank. As the Deputy is aware there are a number of investigations progressing into Anglo Irish Bank which the Board and senior management of Anglo/IBRC have fully co-operated with to date. During his time with the bank they have provided a vast amount of information to the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Body (CARB), Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI), Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), the then Financial Regulator (FR) and the Nyberg Banking Commission to assist with each of those investigations this included the provision of certain recordings to the GBFI.

The role of a public interest director is not to interfere or direct the investigations that are being conducted by the appropriate authorities into Anglo Irish Bank or any other Irish Bank. It would be completely inappropriate for a public interest director to act outside of his/her legal powers and interfere with any investigation that could compromise potential future criminal or civil investigations by the bodies responsible under statute. Mr Dukes in his roles with Anglo/IBRC has facilitated the investigations to the maximum possible extent and that all material required by the authorities was supplied. It was important during the course of the investigations that staff rights were protected and that due process was followed whilst ensuring the authorities got the information they required.