Fresh calls for investigation into Siteserv share trading

The Tánaiste says she wants to see all of the documentation relating to the sale of Siteserv.

Today's Sunday Times reports there was a sharp increase in trading of Siteserve shares shortly before the first bids for the firm were received by IBRC.

Fianna Fail's leader Micheál Martin has already called on the Finance Minister to publish Siteserv's share register for the month preceding its sale.

He said he would be very interested in the "frenetic activity" around a "bust" company in advance of the sale.

Last week, the Government announced that a review into the sale of the company by IBRC will be carried out.

It comes after it emerged that the company was sold to Denis O'Brien's Millington, at a loss of €105 million to the tax payer.

Tánaiste Joan Burton said that if any details on the sale of Siteserv shares is available, they should also be included in the review.

"At the moment, we essentially have a scoping and examination of documentations," she said.

"I presume the transactions were through the stock exchange - so we may need some information on where that documentation would be."

Sinn Féin, meanwhile, has called for an independent inquiry.

"Such an increase in trading could certainly be deemed unusual, and it is imperative that this be investigated and … identities of the share buyers be made public," said the party's enterprise spokesperson, Peadar Tóibín.