PAC to quiz key regulators on measures taken during turmoil

THE Dáil Public Accounts Committee is to call key financial regulator officials before it to probe further the events surrounding the financial crisis.

It will question the measures taken by the Financial Regulator as the financial crisis unfolded, it said.

Responding to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report into the handling of the financial crisis, chairman committee, Bernard Allen TD, said public meetings with the new head of financial regulation at the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, the head of the National Treasury Management Agency, John Corrigan and with officials from the Department of Finance, will be held in the coming weeks.

It must be remembered that up to the end of November last year, the State had spent a total of €11 billion on stabilising the Irish banks, he said.

“The principle remit of our committee is to safeguard public funds and ensure that the taxpayer gets value for the money spent on its behalf,” he said.

On that basis the committee will “conduct a series of meetings with the main players in financial regulation and with those charged with monitoring how this huge sum is managed.”

Though it welcomed the report “it wanted to take this opportunity to question those who were at the centre of the crisis,” he said.

It has been acknowledged that financial regulation “failed dismally in its duty to monitor the sector and major changes will be required to avoid the reoccurrence of such failings”, he said.

In the interest of “proper accountability.... and transparency regarding any future outlay by the State into Irish banks, we need to have an opportunity to properly question those in charge of this process”, he said.

“We will also want to question them on some of the recommendations contained in today’s report and how they will be addressed”, he said.

The Committee has scheduled a meeting with the head of the NTMA, on April 22, with officials from the Department of Finance on May 6 and with the Matthew Elderfield on May 13.

Fine Gael’s spokesman on finance, Richard Bruton, said the C&AG should claim some credit for warning about inadequate supervision in 2007.

“Ireland must never again be exposed to the risk-taking which brought such destruction on the lives of many ordinary people,” Mr Bruton said.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, in welcoming the C&AG’s report, said he will publish important legislation this week to reform the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland.

“This is the first of a three stage legislative programme to create a new fully-integrated structure for financial regulation, enhance the powers and functions of the Central Bank and consolidate existing legislation,” Mr Lenihan said.