Opposition: Taoiseach trying to bury IBRC inquiry

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of attempting to bury the IBRC state investigation until after the election after it emerged the inquiry does not have the legal powers to properly examine what happened.

Opposition parties made the claim last night saying they have been blocked “at every turn” from scrutinising the issue, questioning how the controversy has only emerged five months after the inquiry was launched, and alleging the Coalition does not want any findings before voters go to the polls.

Yesterday, it emerged the five-month-old State investigation into the sale of Siteserv to businessman Denis O’Brien and 36 other company sales by IBRC between January 2009 and February 2013, is on the brink of collapse because it has not been given powers to examine key concerns.

The Government responded by saying it will draw up emergency legislation this week to address the shortcoming immediately, and said the inquiry remains on track.

However, the opposition said this will not happen and that they are being blocked “at every turn” in their attempts to examine the controversy.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy, whose repeated Dáil questions and concerns over the independence of an earlier now- scrapped KPMG review of a number of IBRC deals, said “there is a real possibility of it [the inquiry] collapsing” and that “people will not be taken for fools on this, it is absolutely essential this information is known”.

The TD said she and others have been “frustrated at every turn” in relation to the deals and have been blocked from receiving Dáil answers for months as the inquiry is now underway.

Ms Murphy claimed that “it seems to me the Taoiseach doesn’t want it [answers] before the election”.

Fianna Fáil finance spokesperson Michael McGrath said the inquiry now seems to be “on the road to nowhere” and questioned what legal advice the Government was given before launching the investigation, while Sinn Féin TD Peadar Toibin said “we now have an inquiry that cannot inquire”.

The investigation was set up in June to examine 37 IBRC sales which resulted in a taxpayer loss of €10m or more; ‘preferential’ interest rate terms given to certain clients which resulted in a taxpayer loss of €4m or more; and ‘unusual’ share trading “which would give rise to an inference inside information was improperly provided or used” by those purchasing shares in the firms.