Noonan says Nyberg does not prejudice pending cases

A UNIT in the Department of Finance would have a “hands-on’’ approach in restructuring the banks, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told the Dáil.

“This unit will be strengthened as necessary, and will draw on the resources of the NTMA to carry out its work.’’

Mr Noonan said the unit would in due course become more independent of the department while continuing to report to the Minister for Finance.

A detailed implementation plan would be developed in consultation with all relevant organisations.

Speaking during a debate on the Nyberg report on banking, Mr Noonan said that, having consulted with the Attorney General, he could confirm that its publication would not prejudice any criminal proceedings pending or in progress.

He had also been advised that the Abbeylara judgment made it very difficult for Oireachtas committees to effectively fulfil their important oversight roles, which was why the Government would hold a referendum to address the matter.

Mr Noonan said there were “legacy issues’’ in the banks which the Government was determined to address.

He added that the chairman of each banking institution would have to provide him and the NTMA with a board renewal plan, having regard to company law and regulatory requirements.

A management renewal plan, setting out the steps to be taken to ensure that the skills and competence levels of senior managers were fully adequate for the demands of the current situation and the planned future of the Irish banking system, would be required, he added.

Each senior manager would have to meet the Central Bank’s fitness and probity standards, while the boards of banks would continue to have the appropriate number of independent non-executive directors to ensure the State’s interests were properly represented.

Mr Noonan said the Central Bank was also undertaking a wide ranging programme of reform of the regulation of corporate governance and board level membership of the financial institutions.

It was important to strengthen the Central Bank, and a number of measures had been put in place since the onset of the crisis, he added.

Earlier, during Opposition leaders’ questions, the Taoiseach criticised the Fianna Fáil leader’s role in government during the banking crisis. Enda Kenny said Micheál Martin knew well what had happened represented “a scandalous series of events”.

Mr Kenny said: “He was a member on the benches on this side of the House which, unfortunately, allowed it to happen.”

Mr Kenny rejected a proposal from Mr Martin that an Oireachtas regulatory oversight committee be set up in the wake of the Nyberg report.

Mr Martin said the report was fundamentally about a systemic failure across a range of issues and he was putting forward a constructive proposal.

Mr Kenny said that while there was a regulation committee in the last Dáil, it was not able to do its duty.

He said a referendum would give the Oireachtas and its committee real authority and teeth to do their job, both in a specific case and for all others. While the Nyberg report spoke of systemic failure, it also dealt with a blatant lack of leadership and direction from the government in office.