Opposition questions Lenihan's competence

BRIAN LENIHAN’S future as Minister for Finance was challenged in the Dáil after his revelation that he did not become aware of the Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) deposit with Anglo Irish Bank until last month.

The Minister said that the transaction was an issue in the Price-waterhouseCooper report received at the end of October. The department had brought it to the Financial Regulator’s attention when reviewing it, he added.

“The matter was one of corporate governance issues at Anglo Irish Bank, which were an important part of the Government’s decision to take the bank into public ownership to ensure the instability, which such corporate governance issues can cause, would not threaten the stability of our financial system generally.”

Mr Lenihan said that “the specific character of this transaction was explained to me in the middle of January by my officials”.

It was one of the factors, he added, that led him to the conclusion that he should recommend the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank to his colleagues.

“However, because it was a matter pertaining to a customer of the bank, I did not put it before my colleagues, or the Taoiseach, in explicit terms, because confidence in a bank, over which we have now taken ownership, would be be shattered if the Minister for Finance publicly and with abandon disclosed the confidential arrangement made between a bank and its customers.”

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said the Minister’s replies raised the “most serious questions” about his performance in office and his ministerial future.

“It beggars belief that the Minister did not read the report. Even if one accepts that he is very stretched in terms of time . . . it is unbelievable that he would not, at least, read the section of the report about Anglo Irish Bank.”

Mr Lenihan accused Mr Gilmore of choosing to misconstrue an earlier reply and stated that he had not read the sections relating to Anglo Irish Bank.

“I said that I had not read the entirety of the report . . . that the report contained 120 pages on each of six financial institutions . . . that I had been briefed extensively by my officials on it . . . that I had met the author of the report as well.

“The matter was listed in the report as an issue to be addressed by the department and not a risk factor. Naturally, my concern was directed at risk factors.”

He said that when the matter, along with others, was drawn to his attention, in January, he took a decision to recommend to his colleagues that they should nationalise Anglo Irish Bank. He added that the Government would not be distracted by “cheap politics”.

Fergus O’Dowd (FG, Louth) said that the buck stopped with the Minister. “Do you think it is credible, as finance minister, that you did not read every single one of those 720 pages?”

He told Mr Lenihan he had brought his job and position into disrepute and suggested that he should consider his position.

Mr Lenihan replied: “Very strong words, Deputy O’Dowd, but I can assure you that my officials briefed me extensively on this particular report and on the risks associated with all of the institutions concerned.” He had read large amounts of the report in considerable detail. The issue was not identified as a risk factor in the report.

“Once the issue was drawn to my attention in January as a risk factor, I took immediate action in regard to it, as any Minister would do. And in the intervening period, I can assure deputies that there was no prejudice to the State in regard to it.” Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton asked why the report was not “red-letter reading, every word and comma”.

Mr Lenihan said the Taoiseach had not received a copy of the report. Several copies were prepared for department officials.

He had returned any copies he received because of the confidential character of the information.