Micheál Martin
Question:76. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the meeting he had with An Taoiseach on 22 April 2015 regarding Siteserv; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17149/15]
View answerThursday, 30 April 2015
Questions (76)
Written answers
I spoke with An Taoiseach on the morning of 22 April 2015 during which we discussed various matters including that of Siteserv. During this exchange, I let An Taoiseach know that the Chairman provided me with strong assurances that the transaction, including those aspects of the transaction with which there were concerns, had been thoroughly assessed by the IBRC Board and that the Board of IBRC was satisfied that the transaction was managed in the best manner possible to achieve the best result for the State.
I further spoke to An Taoiseach about the steps which were taken by me and my Department following the meeting with the Chairman and CEO in July 2012. As evidenced in the information released under FOI, engagement continued between Department of Finance officials and senior management of IBRC to improve upon the working relationship with IBRC and to help protect against such concerns arising in the future, including the implementation of the revised relationship framework and the secondment of a senior Department of Finance official to IBRC as a senior executive to facilitate IBRC's ongoing deleveraging.
I also informed him that there was a FOI due to be released the following day which would give further information on certain issues within IBRC at that time. The records under that FOI are now available on the Department of Finance website at http://www.finance.gov.ie/news-centre/press-releases/ibrc-foi-documents.
We also discussed the possibility of a review of the transaction by a third party. One option mentioned was a review to be carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General. We subsequently decided that the most effective way to carry out the review was to give a direction to the Special Liquidator under the IBRC Act.