Taoiseach to face tough questioning from committee

BRIAN COWEN is to face tough questioning from the Oireachtas committee drawing up the scope of the next stage of the banking probe.

The Taoiseach confirmed he would appear before the Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service and also hand over all relevant documents on the banking inquiry that do not compromise “cabinet confidentiality”, as he appeared before the body to explain his department’s expenditure for last year.

Mr Cowen pledged he would address all issues surrounding his department’s role in economic and financial crisis.

Committee member and Labour finance spokesperson Joan Burton put the Taoiseach on notice of strong questioning and warned him not to use cabinet confidentiality as an excuse to withhold documents from the committee.

Mr Cowen insisted that his department did not have a major paper trail regarding the economic and banking crisis as it was mainly dealt with by the Finance Department.

The committee is charged with deciding the terms of reference for the next phase of the banking probe.

Mr Cowen also confirmed that the cost of the Moriarty Tribunal until the end of May this year stood at €39.57m.

But this figure is likely to grow significantly when third party costs are added on when the report is delivered by the end of the year.

Mr Cowen also defended the costs of providing secretarial assistance for former holders of the office of Taoiseach which costs the taxpayer €180,000 a year.

The Taoiseach said the money was not an allowance given to former heads of government personally but paid for non-constituency related secretarial work needed.

Mr Cowen would not be drawn on demands from committee members to cut the expensive and “bloated” Oireachtas committee system down from the present 22 bodies to 15, or even eight, in order to save public money.