TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen said it was necessary to send a signal that the activities of Anglo Irish Bank were being investigated by the appropriate authorities.
“Any suggestions to the contrary, last week or any other week, are without foundation,” he added.
Responding to Opposition questions about yesterday’s search of the bank’s Dublin headquarters, he said there was also the necessity to ensure that they proceeded with the reform of regulatory structures, instilling public confidence.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan had indicated that he would come to Government very shortly with proposals in that regard, said Mr Cowen.
“Those moves would be very beneficial in ensuring that everyone understands . . . that we have a reputable and proper functioning of the system which will ensure that the principle of accountability applies and that the full rigour of the law will apply for probity,” Mr Cowen said.
He said he had consistently made clear that the proper statutory bodies were investigating what had occurred in the bank and that the Government would do nothing to prejudice subsequent possible criminal or civil proceedings.
Mr Cowen said that any such investigation was a matter for the Garda, or for the office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement: “The Government does not intervene in such investigations.”
He said that for operational reasons, the director would not be disclosing the suspected offence, or offences, in question.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that he would not be confrontational on what others saw as petty points. “This is about our country and the credibility of our financial institutions,” he said.
The Garda raid, which FG justice spokesman Charles Flanagan had called for on a number of occasions, sent out its own message.
He added that the markets did not care who owned the bank so long as creditworthiness was restored to fiscal and financial institutions.
“The world is running out of patience with Ireland Inc. You, as head of Government, are actually in a position to take decisive action to attempt to rectify this problem before somebody else rectifies it for us.”
Mr Cowen said that a framework had been agreed with the social partners, and there was much he had seen in what the Irish Congress of Trade Unions had to say which was consistent with his approach and that of the Government.
“Clearly, this week would not be the most conducive week for such discussions . . . but I do believe that everybody interested in the betterment of the country . . . that we must try and see is there a way we can return to those issues in a comprehensive fashion . . .”
He said he remained open to discuss with the social partners the real challenge facing the country. Government, in the meantime, would continue to take whatever decisions were necessary in the circumstances.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said the reaction of most people was that it was about time the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank was searched. Mr Gilmore asked the Taoiseach about a report in a Sunday newspaper which claimed that former financial regulator Patrick Neary was told in September that the bank would be managing its balance sheet, “in other words cooking its books”.
The report also said that a senior civil servant, reported as working closely with Mr Lenihan, assured Irish Life Permanent that he understood why it was necessary to carry out back-to-back transactions and there was no need for concern with those arrangements.
Mr Cowen said that the Department of Finance had no role in approving transactions between banks. “I’m satisfied of that . . . knowing the official concerned.”
