Enda Kenny: Siteserv probe may take a year

Enda Kenny has said a report into the sale of Siteserv by IBRC could take until the end of next year — even if the inquiry judge is granted extra powers and resources.

In a letter to opposition leaders last night summing up options for the probe — a month after Judge Brian Cregan first raised concerns — Mr Kenny confirmed that “significant risks” remain trying to keep the IBRC inquiry on track, including agreeing its scope and cost.

His detailed letter on how to save the inquiry now confirms that Judge Cregan will be unable to complete his work until well into the lifetime of the next government.

Mr Kenny is expected to meet Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams, and the Social Democrats’ Catherine Murphy, among others, about the impasse next week.

The Taoiseach sets out how his officials and Judge Cregan’s Commission of Investigation have met in a bid to overcome legal obstacles which have ground the inquiry into IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, to a halt.

The inquiry was set up after claims were made that the sale of construction company Siteserv to a firm owned by businessman Denis O’Brien was the subject of improper procedures.

Denis O’Brein

These include suggestions the Siteserv deal involved unusual share trading, concerns about pay offs to shareholders, and questions about the bidding process. A larger IBRC inquiry into 38 deals with write-downs of €10m or more was then launched.

The judge has now said that a phased approach focused on the 12 largest transactions could be completed in 18 months to two years.

Mr Kenny told opposition leaders that Judge Cregan’s legal concerns could be tested before the High Court, but this was “unlikely to lead to a satisfactory solution”.

The Government has already agreed to an extra €3m for the probe next year.

To allow documents covered by confidentiality be used in evidence, it would be necessary to provide Judge Cregan with “the express powers of a High Court judge”, Mr Kenny wrote.

However, boosting his powers and those overall of a commission “risks moving the process closer to that of a tribunal”, he warned.

Instead, specific or “bespoke legislation” for the commission may be an option, he said. This would include empowering the judge so legal privilege claims could be waived and information about the Irish Stock Exchange accessed.

The consequences of both actions, though, are unclear, Mr Kenny suggests.

Elsewhere, Mr Kenny says new legislation can add more members to the inquiry, especially where conflict of interest issues may arise.

Mr Kenny concludes by saying changes will allow the inquiry to reduce the number of transactions being examined and to get extra resources.

Crucially though, he says that completing a report on Siteserv alone may not be done until well after next year’s election.

“lf these proposals were agreed, Judge Cregan believes it is feasible that a report on Siteserv could be finalised before the end of 2016,” said Mr Kenny. “However, it would only be feasible if other actions were also taken that could have more general policy, fiscal, or legal implications.”

Former directors of IBRC have also expressed concerns to Mr Kenny at the inquiry’s delay, he says, as they cannot defend their names amid allegations.