Fitzpatrick and Anglo Irish Bank auditors to face Dáil committee

Former Anglo Irish Bank CEO Sean Fitzpatrick is to give evidence before a Government committee on February 17 concerning the scandal that has arisen in bank, it has been revealed.

Anglo Irish Bank's internal auditors and the bank's external auditors Ernst & Young have also been ordered to attend the meeting on February 3 and 5 respectively.

"Along with the members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs, I am deeply concerned over the situation that developed at Anglo Irish Bank," said Committee chair Michael Moynihan TD.

"We are all determined to ensure that proper policies for the regulation of the banking system are not only put in place, but also consistently implemented, with strong and reliable oversight.

"In these meetings, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs will thoroughly examine the role of regulation and oversight in the Anglo Irish Bank situation, so that we can identify failings and determine how to eliminate them.

"We must look at where things have gone wrong so we can put them right. These meetings are the Committee's vital next step toward establishing the outstanding regulation and oversight which Ireland must have in order to safeguard the national banking system, the customers and shareholders of Irish banks, taxpayers and the Irish economy."