Vol. 402 No. 7
4 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if, in view of the many serious questions which remain unanswered about the circumstances of and leading to the financial difficulties of the Goodman Group, he will use the powers available to him to establish a tribunal of inquiry into the affair; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Companies (Amendment) Act, 1990, provides a framework within which companies experiencing difficulties, but which are considered viable in the longer term, can be put under the protection of the court. The examiner appointed to 61 of the companies in the Goodman Group has now furnished his initial report and is in the course of discussing his proposals for a compromise or scheme of arrangement with interested parties, with a view to submitting a further report to the court as required by section 18. At least until this report is finalised and decided on by the parties and the court, I am satisfied that it would not be appropriate to consider establishing any form of inquiry for the purpose mentioned by the Deputy.
I would also draw the Deputy's attention to the fact that, in preparing his first report, the examiner is required by section 16 (i) to give his opinion as to whether the facts disclosed would warrant further inquiries under section 33, which deals with civil liability for fraudulent and reckless trading, and section 34, which deals with criminal liability for fraudulent trading.
In any event, as the Deputy is well aware, the current powers available to appoint inspectors under sections 165 to 173 of the Companies Act, 1963, have proved ineffective. I am at present replacing these provisions in Part II of the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 1987. I think it would be wasteful of scarce resources to make any appointment under the existing provisions and, until the new provisions are accepted by the Oireachtas, it would be premature to reach any decision in relation to their use.
Do I understand the Minister is saying that, at the end of the examinership process, he may well end up considering setting up such a tribunal of inquiry, particularly within the context of this group having been entrusted with the largest ever industrial investment plan for Irish business in the history of this country; having regard to the manner in which that company abused the trust placed in it by Government, the serious questions concerning the probity of its affaris and the interaction between political and commercial considerations? Does he not agree that there is a need for us — speaking from the point of view of industrial policy — to learn from the lessons of the Goodman fiasco? Would he not agree that at the end of the examinership process, we can do that only by way of a tribunal of inquiry?
The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot prejudge the end of the examinership process. The examiner has produced one report and will produce a final report, I think, within the next three weeks. That will be put to the relevant parties, the creditors and others. If they approve of his proposals, it will then be put to the court. I have no way of foreseeing what attitude the court will take in the final resort. Certainly, I am not applying my mind to what might or might not be done until (a) that procedure is completed and (b) the proposed new legislation — now at Report Stage — is completed. That would be the time to begin to apply one's mind to the matters raised by the Deputy.
Does the Minister acknowledge the difficulties we are experiencing in this House in getting answers to specific questions? I instanced the case of the misuse of section 84 lending when the Minister for Finance refused to answer questions, then told me to put down specific questions about the amount involved, then gave a reply to the effect that these matters were confidential to the client and that the Revenue Commissioners could not reveal information regarding tax breaks in that manner? Would he agree that, other than through a tribunal of inquiry, we cannot get specific answers to specific questions in this House?
I think I have been fairly open in endeavouring to reply to questions asked of me. This House was the vehicle for discovering a lot of what went on in regard to this matter which, without the facilities available to Members of this House, might not have been discovered.
