I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
The Deputies will be aware that I appointed an authorised officer on Monday last, 23 March, under section 59 of the Insurance Act, 1989, for the purpose of obtaining further information from National Irish Bank in order to ascertain whether, where relevant, the operations of National Irish Bank and its associated companies meet the requirements of the Insurance Acts and regulations and whether breaches of that legislation may have occurred. I have asked the authorised officer to present his report to me within two months. The House will also be aware of the ongoing investigations being conducted on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners concerning allegations of tax evasion and by the Central Bank into the operations of National Irish Bank.
The decision to appoint the authorised officer follows ministerial and departmental inquiries from National Irish Bank and extensive and ongoing consultations between the Tánaiste and myself, our departmental officials, the Chief State Solicitor's office and the Attorney General's office, over the past seven weeks. The Attorney General's office has engaged counsel to advise on the basis of the information provided in response to our inquiries whether breaches of insurance law may have occurred, justifying the submission of the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The results of counsel's examination of issues raised by our Department and the Chief State Solicitor's office indicated, having regard to the complexity of the legislation involved, the need to obtain further detailed information from National Irish Bank. When I studied the initial information and the legal advice, it became clear that in order to obtain the further information prescribed by counsel the appointment of an authorised officer with statutory powers was necessary, notwithstanding the co-operation of National Irish Bank in the preliminary written inquiries.
The appointment of an authorised officer to examine the NIB CMI insurance arrangements was an appropriate response given the information available to us last Monday. We require more information to address the insurance issues and it is my intention that the authorised officer should continue his work.
As regards section 8 of the Companies Act, 1990, the section provides that the Minister may appoint an inspector, on petition to the High Court, to investigate the affairs of a company where there are circumstances suggesting that, inter alia, its affairs are being or have been conducted with intent to defraud its creditors or for a fraudulent or unlawful purpose. In previous section 8 cases, petitions were preceded by preliminary examinations.
The information becoming available yesterday from the RTE inquiries is a cause of serious concern to the Government. We are currently taking legal advice on the appointment of an inspector by the High Court under section 8 of the Companies Act and we hope to proceed with this as a matter of urgency.