There is a great deal of egg on the face of the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, following the disclosure that 151 files, dealing with currency exchange controls, are missing from his Department. Once again, the Minister appears to underestimate the seriousness of the situation. And valiant efforts have been made by his officials to minimise its importance.
Detailed records are the lifeblood of effective government. And the loss of 20 per cent of files on a specific topic, from the primary department of government, is extremely worrying. Does it indicate a similar, porous, filing and storage system on other issues? And what is the position concerning files within the other fourteen government departments? Should the Government check out the situation? Might we be told? The Freedom of Information Act took effect last week, after years of slow and cautious gestation. It grants members of the public a right to access their personal files and to inquire into official and government decisions in most circumstances. In the absence of properly kept records, however, such legislation becomes meaningless. ail yesterday when he said that questions needed to be answered if the Department "which is responsible for administrative procedures and for the implementation of strategic management in the public service is unable to maintain proper care of its own files."
Cover-ups and blame-transference become a feature of official and political responses when things go wrong. The first reaction of the Department of Finance to the disclosure by George Lee of RTE in relation to the missing files was to diminish its importance. The vast bulk of the missing files, dealing with exchange controls and trade-related matters, were originally registered before 1970, a statement from the Minister said. And the large majority of those were registered before 1960. It took the Department 24 hours to acknowledge that five files are missing for 1991, along with part of a file from 1995.
The year 1991 is of particular significance. We now know that the Central Bank and the Revenue Commissioners - in consultation with the Department of Finance - engaged in negotiations with the associated banks at that time over the repatriation of "hot" , untaxed, money which had been illegally moved offshore. Tax fraud involving a sum of £500m was identified by an internal audit at Allied Irish Banks. The Bank of Ireland has declined to disclose its figures. But all banks are believed to have facilitated this kind of tax evasion. By contrast, the £38m identified by the McCracken Tribunal in the Ansbacher accounts at Guinness & Mahon (Ireland) in 1989, amounted to small beer. The files missing from the Department of Finance may have nothing at all to do with this matter or with the inquiry now being conducted by the Moriarty Tribunal. But they might shed light on other, equally important issues. Whatever details are available to the Government must be published as soon as possible. And steps should be taken to tighten up the filing system.