Dukes: Some people see conspiracies in their tea leaves

The former chairman of IBRC, Alan Dukes, said today that he is fully confident that an inquiry into the sale of SiteServ would find no evidence of any wrongdoing.

He says that he is satisfied that the bid by Denis O'Brien's Millington firm was the one with the best result for the bank, and therefore the taxpayer.

However, the former Fine Gael leader sais that he is angry at any allegation of illegal practices at the bank.

He said he cannot understand why the Department of Finance continued to raise concerns about issues they had already been assured about.

"I am extremely angry that there has been any reference in what the Minister has been saying about this review to criminality or malpractice," he said.

"There's absolutely no grounds for suggesting that.

"I know that there may be other people who will claim to find that. There are people who, I think, see conspiracies in their tealeaves."