Michael Noonan says Alan Dukes reassured him on Siteserv sale

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he was reassured by Alan Dukes, former chairman of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), that the sale of Siteserv to Denis O'Brien represented the best deal for the taxpayer.

Mr Noonan also said he was not aware of the 2012 deal until it had been reached with Mr O’Brien’s company.

However, speaking to RTÉ News, the Minister said there were a "series of concerns about the relationship between IBRC and the Department of Finance at the time".

Documents released this week to Independent TD Catherine Murphy, who has been investigating the €45 million Siteserv deal, show tensions between IBRC and the department over the transaction as well as over the sales of other IBRC assets.

Deep concern

Concerns were expressed about the deal on Wednesday by the Opposition, as well as by some Government TDs.

While Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the matter could be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Dáil Public Accounts Committee chairman John McGuinness said this could not be done.

Mr McGuinness said officials of his committee had checked with the C&AG and were told it would not be possible to examine the Siteserv deal because IBRC was a private company.

The Public Accounts Committee can only investigate matters which also fall under the C&AG’s remit.

Tánaiste Joan Burton is expected to make public comments on the issue today.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin called for a public inquiry into the controversy.

Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said the Government's response to the "issues around Siteserv and other scandals, their subservience to the elites, to the golden circles, is in marked contrast to their despicable attitude to citizens who have been impoverished by the politics of austerity".

Mr Noonan said the legal arrangements in place at the time meant IBRC did not have to notify him of commercial transactions.

“The idea was to keep the commercial decisions at a distance from the politicians, which is reasonable. It’s a reasonable thing to do. But I found I needed more information than what I was getting automatically so I subsequently changed the framework so they had to notify any transactions over €100 million.

"We didn't have the flow of information I would have now with AIB, for example, because the arrangement that my predecessor entered into didn't require transactions to be notified and I was in the position of having to answer to the Dáil and being unsure of the flow of information, even though there was regular meetings between IBRC and finance officials."

Full review

Mr Noonan said he was only aware of the sale after a deal had been reached with Mr O’Brien’s company. “At one meeting I was extensively briefed on issues from remuneration to new appointments of directors to senior management and the Siteserv issue was an issue of concern as well.”

Mr Dukes told him the board of IBRC carried out a full review and assured the Minister “that what happened was in the best interests of the State and consequently of the taxpayer”.

Mr Noonan added: “The deal was the deal and I was assured the components of the deal were necessary to get the best results for the taxpayer. All transactions were complete. There was no possibility of a reversal and I trusted Alan Dukes.”