Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 29 Apr 1998

Vol. 490 No. 3

Departmental Files.

Mr. Noonan

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. It arises from a report on RTE today that 155 files, which were the subject of a discovery order from the Moriarty Tribunal, have gone missing from the Department of Finance, that the files related to the operation of exchange controls, that the Department refused to answer questions on this matter which were posed by RTE and that the Department failed to inform the Moriarty Tribunal that the files were missing. The Minister for Finance issued a statement this afternoon which confirmed the story but which gave little further information except that 167 files, not 155, are missing. I would have preferred this matter to have been taken by way of a Private Notice Question because I would have had the opportunity to pose supplementary questions. However, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating me. The statement by the Minister for Finance this afternoon sought to diminish the importance of the missing files by claiming that the bulk of them were from prior to 1970. I do not believe this diminishes the importance of the work of the tribunal.

The Sunday Tribune of 1 March 1998 refers to the discovery order by the Moriarty tribunal covering the years from 1954 to 1992. It points out that when sterling was devalued on Saturday, 18 November 1967, Mr. Haughey, as Minister for Finance, was informed in advance of the devaluation by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Jim Callaghan. The telegram from the Chancellor to Mr. Haughey is dated 17 November 1967. Sterling was devalued by 14 per cent.

The Sunday Tribune story links the order for discovery from the Moriarty tribunal with the intention of the tribunal to investigate whether Mr. Haughey or any of his friends could have benefited from this advance knowledge by buying foreign currency before the devaluation and selling it after the devaluation at a profit of approximately 14 per cent. Any person buying foreign currency in 1967 needed to lodge an application under the existing exchange controls. Copies of the application would be on file either in the Central Bank or in the Department of Finance.

Against this background, it is not sufficient for the Minister for Finance to dismiss today's revelations as merely a matter covering dusty 30 year old files of irrelevant antiquity. If the Sunday Tribune story is correct, the files from 1967 are very relevant to the work of the tribunal.

Can the Minister of State inform us how many of the files, out of the 167 missing files, came from 1967 and, in particular, can he state how many of the missing files date from the fourth quarter of that year? In material I have circulated I have attached a copy of the front page portion of the newspaper article of 1 March. For the benefit of the House there is a two page spread on pages 8 and 9 which goes into greater detail on the matter. In the text of the article, Mr. Haughey forcefully denied any impropriety on his part in respect of the matter.

I hope the Minister of State is in a position to answer some other questions. The answers may be in his briefing material. When was the Minister for Finance informed that a large number of files were missing? Did he inform the Moriarty tribunal of the problem at any stage over the past three months? Why did the Minister for Finance not take advantage of the several opportunities he had in this House when the Moriarty tribunal was debated or was the subject of parliamentary questions to inform the House the files were missing? Are the files simply misplaced or have they been destroyed? Can the Minister of State give an assurance to the House that none of these files has been removed from the Department of Finance by persons known or unknown? Can he assure the House that no attempt is being made by persons known or unknown to obstruct the Moriarty tribunal?

Have the terms of the Archives Act been implemented in respect of the files of long duration? I would have thought that since the implementation of the Archives Act there was an obligation on the Department of Finance to forward material of this kind to the archives office if it was older than 30 years and, if it was of a more recent vintage, to look after the files appropriately to see if they contain information which would be lodged in the archives office.

Is the information which was contained in these files from 1965 when exchange control was transferred from the Department of Finance to the Central Bank? Are copies available in the Central Bank? If RTE had not made this issue public today, had the Minister any intention of informing the Houses of the Oireachtas, or did he intend keeping both the Dáil and the Moriarty tribunal in the dark about the missing files?

Did the Minister inform the Taoiseach and the Cabinet that the files were missing? In this afternoon's statement the Minister said his Department was at the full disposal of the tribunal to assist it in whatever way it can in relation to the files which have been located. How can the Department assist the tribunal in relation to files it cannot find? Has the Minister taken legal advice on the missing files and, if so, will the Minister of State communicate to the House the nature of that legal advice?

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Cullen)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I will endeavour to answer all the questions as best I can. I have included backup material in the script. I wanted to include as much as was available to me so that it would be fully available to the House.

On 16 December 1997 the Tribunal of Inquiry (Payments to Messrs. Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry) served an order of production on the Minister for Finance relating to documents pertaining to the operation of exchange controls in the years 1954 to 1993, inclusive. The Central Bank was delegated responsibility for the day-to-day operation of exchange controls with effect from 3 May 1965. I would draw Deputies' attention to the fact that the order did not specify any particular file or document and required that all documents be located.

When the order for production was received, the Minister immediately wrote to the Governor and authorised the Central Bank to take all the steps necessary to comply with the order. The Minister also directed the Department of Finance to ensure that all relevant documents would be produced and that every assistance would be given to the tribunal. The process followed by the Department in relation to the production order was one which was adopted, in consultation with legal advice, with a view to offering the maximum assistance to the tribunal. Senior officials of the Department took charge of the search process and asked the heads of all units in the Department to carry out a thorough search of all offices, storage areas, etc., to ensure that all the relevant files were located. This included a search of buildings previously occupied by sections of the Department of Finance. The senior officials also wrote to the Central Bank requesting that a similar search be undertaken by the bank.

A very large number of files were identified by the Department as coming under the scope of the production order; by reference to the file register, 713 files have been identified. Some of these files would consist of several volumes, that is to say, continuation parts of the original file. In addition, 24 folders and 34 individual documents were identified and located. However, despite the most strenuous efforts on the part of the Department, it has not been possible to locate some of the registered files relating to the operation of exchange controls for the period in question.

The Department was operating on the basis that the tribunal would seek access to the files covered by the production order when it was appropriate for it to do so. The Department was meanwhile making every effort to locate all the relevant files. This search is continuing.

Since the Minister issued his press statement earlier today the continued search has resulted in the location of a small number of files and, by reference to the register of files, the present situation is that 139 files have not been located and, in the case of a further 12 registered files, 14 volumes have not been located. The vast bulk of these files were originally registered before 1970 and of these the large majority were originally registered before 1960. Of the 139 files, 111 were originally registered between 1954 and 1959, 13 were originally registered between 1960 and 1964 and four were originally registered between 1965 and 1970. In the case of the further 12 files I referred to, four were originally registered between 1954 and 1959. One was originally registered between 1960 and 1964 and one was originally registered between 1965 and 1970. The possibility that some files may have been amalgamated over the years without this being recorded in the file register is still being investigated. The titles of the files not located relate to various aspects of the operation of exchange controls, including trade-related matters.

The Minister has asked me to say that, subject to legal advice and to the agreement of the tribunal he has no objection, in principle, to a listing of the files which have not been located being made available to the House. It is the Minister's intention to send to the tribunal tomorrow the list of all the files covered by the production order, including a list of the files that cannot be located, and to consult with his legal advisers.

The efforts by the Minister, Deputy McCreevy, and by the Department of Finance, were directed at facilitating the work of the tribunal and giving every assistance to it. There is no question of the Minister or the Department of Finance seeking in any way to deny access by the tribunal or obstruct its work. The very opposite was and still is the intention. The files that have been located have been and still are available to the tribunal.

The Department is at the full disposal of the tribunal to assist it in whatever way it can in relation to the files which have not been located.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 30 April 1998.