NIB report: Tánaiste calls for resignations

Tánaiste Mary Harney today called on former Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Flynn to resign her seat in the wake of the National Irish Bank scandal.

Mrs Flynn was one of 19 former senior NIB officials blamed in a devastating report for widespread tax evasion and over-charging at the bank.

Former NIB chief executive Jim Lacey was another of the high-profile figures criticised in the six-year investigation into the bank’s activities in the 1980s and 1990s.

Mrs Harney accused Ms Flynn of not being fit to hold public office. She added that Ms Flynn and the others mentioned would have to reflect on the conclusions drawn by the High Court Inspectors.

The 19 face possible criminal charges after the bank was left with a total bill of €64m.

The authorities also vowed to take civil action to prevent some of those implicated from becoming company directors in the future.

The report by High Court inspectors began after an unidentified employee blew the whistle on illegal activities within the bank.

It also concluded that the bank’s 135 branch managers could not be held responsible for the illegal practices.

NIB chief executive Don Smith said yesterday that the branch managers who allowed the over-charging of customers would not be dismissed.

“What they’ve concluded in the report is that responsibility lies at a more senior level in the bank. And we’re respecting that.”

He said less than 10 of the people concerned were still working with the bank as branch managers.

“We’ve a completely new management team in place. Over the last six years, we have been working to transform the bank and NIB is now a very different organisation.”

Mr Price confirmed that the 19 NIB officials who were the subject of adverse findings in the report were no longer working at the bank.

“We’re not going to comment on individuals because the report has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions and we don’t want to say anything that would prejudice that,” he said.

He condemned the illegal practices identified by the report as “totally unacceptable”.

NIB refunded €1.9m to customers in 1998 and 1999 in response to the initial media allegations at that time.

The over-charging was done manually by bank staff, who loaded on the charges without customers’ knowledge.

Some told the inspectors they had done it to “troublesome customers” who took up too much of their time.

Mr Price explained that a further reimbursement programme, expected to cost €10.6m, is now being rolled out in response to the more general findings of the inspectors’ report.

“Under the first phase of this programme, some 43,000 customers will receive automatic refunds of all manual amendments of €13 euro and less,” he said.