Fingleton may be obliged to pay back his expenses

THE Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore suggested that legal action may have to be brought against Irish Nationwide’s former head, Michael Fingleton.

Despite repeated requests, Mr Fingleton has failed to return a €1 million bonus he received when the left the building society — which got €5.4bn in taxpayers money to cover losses on loans to property developers and is now amalgamated with the state owned Anglo Irish bank.

Mr Fingleton received a request from the head of Anglo recently asking him to return the bonus, a gold watch worth more than €11,000 and €88,000 in expenses which were regarded as ‘suspect’.

The expenses included €48,000 for golf membership fees and time spent at the K Club, and a two night stay at the luxury Dorchester Hotel in London after he had left the building society.

Pressure increased on Mr Fingleton yesterday when Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore hinted that legal action may be taken against him.

“Where expenses have been improperly obtained, they need to be paid back,” he said.

He added that Mr Fingleton was reluctant to move before but now “he may be obliged” to.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he believed the public would like to see those responsible for wrong doing in the banking debacle being brought to justice.

He said the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) has statutory authority to follow through on these things and he assumed he would forward information to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

“I detect for a long time a real sense of anger in people that the carry on with some elements of banking over the past number of years has impacted severely on people’s lifestyles and their lives and ethical standards, and they would like to see that if there are persons out there who are guilty, that they be brought before the courts, and if the courts decide to punish them let the law of the land take its course.

“People don’t want to see these things drag on interminably and I know that they are complex and I hope that the statutory authorities who are charged with following these things up continue to do so as expeditiously as is possible,” he said.

Earlier this week the ODCE transferred a third file regarding Anglo to the DPP.