Confidentiality claims ‘may inhibit IBRC inquiry’

The chairman of the inquiry into IBRC transactions has said the Department of Finance is claiming confidentiality over its documents, a situation which may prohibit them being used in the probe.

Judge Brian Cregan told Taoiseach Enda Kenny last week by letter he could not proceed with the probe into transactions and sales of debts carried out by IBRC.

He said that legal concerns were preventing him from proceeding. In the letter, released by Mr Kenny’s department yesterday, he said: “As a result of the determinations made by the commission in relation to confidentiality and privilege, the commission is not in apposition to proceed with its investigation into any of the relevant ‘write-off’ transactions.”