Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 July 2013
266. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that Anglo Irish Bank sought as a solution to its difficulties on 29 and 30 September 2008 the provision of short-term liquidity support; and if he will explain the reason an alternative to a blanket guarantee, if proposed, was ruled out. [34780/13]
View answerI am advised that Anglo Irish Bank would have discussed a number of funding options with the authorities during September 2008. For more detail as to why the ultimate option of a blanket guarantee was adopted, I understand that my predecessor as Minister for Finance gave a detailed account of the lead up to the Government decision to introduce a bank guarantee to the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service on 26 February 2009. This transcript is available on the Oireachtas website and the Minister was thanked by Deputies from all parties for the full and frank account he gave to the Committee at that time. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/committeetakes/FIJ2009022600003?opendocument.
In addition, Department of Finance officials gave extensive testimony to the Committee of Public Accounts on 22 July 2010 setting out information prepared during 2008 that related to the Bank Guarantee. The Committee of Public Accounts published documents obtained from the Department of Finance. These documents included a presentation by Anglo Irish Bank to the Department in September 2008. These documents are available at:http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Committees30thDail/PAC/Reports/document1.html.
