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 adviser 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 ongoing 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 2 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 ongoing 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 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.