‘Bank inquiry may begin in months’

AN inquiry into the failures of the financial regulatory system could begin within months, according to Environment Minister John Gormley.

He said the inquiry must be politically independent and has to be allowed ask the relevant questions.

Mr Gormley said the Cabinet is expected to finalise a decision on the nature of any inquiry at next Tuesday’s meeting but his party has made its views known.

“What we would like to see is an inquiry that focuses not just on banking but on regulation as well. We do want to get real answers and it cannot be a fudge in any way,” he said.

He was speaking at his Parliamentary Party’s new year think-in in Kildare ahead of the resumption of the Dáil next week.

Mr Gormley said, while he agreed with Finance Minister Brian Lenihan on the dangers of publicising information doing damage to criminal trials, he wanted the investigation to begin sooner rather than later.

“If we are looking at an inquiry that is dealing with both regulation and banking, we would like to see a focus on regulation and we would like to see that happening in the first half of this year,” he said.

Chairman of the Green Party, Dan Boyle, detailed its preferred model. He said it could use the Oireachtas committee system but still draw on outside expertise.

This would involve experts on various contentious areas producing reports for the committee which would feed into its deliberations.

Mr Boyle pointed to the exploratory sub-committee established to analyse the result of the first Lisbon referendum as a useful example. This was chaired by Fine Gael senator Paschal Donohoe but went outside the Oireachtas for research.

Mr Gormley said he did not favour handing the inquiry over to the opposition, in line with FG’s wish to appoint Limerick East deputy Michael Noonan.

He said nothing would be served by the investigation being used as a “star chamber” to destabilise the Government.

Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said next week the party will table a motion calling for legislation to restore full inquiry powers to the Oireachtas committees.

Ms Burton said public support for the inquiry was “unstoppable” and it would not be wise for the Government to delay the process.