Government accused of Siteserv files cover-up

The Government has been accused of a deliberate attempt to hide documents key to the Siteserv controversy.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin insisted he “did not buy” claims by Finance Minister Michael Noonan that crucial information was misfiled before being suddenly discovered.

“I think there was a deliberate attempt to prevent this from getting out — a lid was kept on it,” said Mr Martin. “You can’t just dismiss what the minister said about misfiling. I don’t buy that.

“The minister needs to come before the Dáil and make a statement on this because we are talking about a major bank, billions and billions of public funds involved here, and we are led to believe that, despite the fact there was on-going engagement between the bank and the Finance Department going back to 2009, that there is no corporate memory of that and that a minister was allowed come into the Dáil and state categorically that no minutes had been received prior to 2012 in relation to that bank.

“I find that incredible and very difficult to comprehend and we need a comprehensive explanation in relation to how all of those minutes could suddenly disappear from corporate memory and in any physical sense.

“I think there was a deliberate attempt to prevent this coming out.”

The Finance Department insist that a filing error was to blame for the documents not coming to light before now. Mr Noonan said that the discovery of the board meeting minutes did not alter the main facts of the issue, and their appearance on the same day that the investigation into IBRC was radically expanded was merely a coincidence.

Mr Martin also accused Mr Noonan of politicising his replies to the Dáil on the subject, as it took 19 parliamentary questions from Independent TD Catherine Murphy before key facts were divulged.

Renua TD Lucinda Creighton also criticised the Government’s handling of the situation as she warned that ministers would now use the inquiry to try and avoid answering questions on the matter.

The former Fine Gael minister called for the terms of reference for the investigation to be expanded because it was wrong not to probe IBRC deals which cost the taxpayer less than €10m in losses.

Ms Creighton said she had been contacted by whistle-blowers regarding “significant and substantial transactions” below the €10m cut-off point.

She also expressed concern that the inquiry may not be published until after the general election, which must be held before next spring.