Public Accounts Committee to get legal advice on SiteServ

The Public Accounts Committee is to receive legal advice this morning to decide whether it can continue its investigations into SiteServ.

The committee is not sure if it is allowed to continue its inquiries into the sale of the company by IBRC.

The confusion follows the establishment of a Commission of Investigation into IBRC which will examine transactions including the sale of SiteServ.

The PAC is due to meet officials from the Department of Finance this afternoon regarding the previous investigation by IBRC's liquidators.

Chairman John McGuinness says those officials want to correct the record after discovering new documents on SiteServ, but do not want to take questions on the inquiry itself.

He said: "It was made clear to them that questions would go beyond just correcting the record and that they would be asked a wide range of questions about the issues, not crossing over into the inquiry.

"And then I would think arising from that, the department wrote to say that they had taken legal advice and that they wouldn't be able to answer questions."