Public Accounts Committee

The findings of a key report published today (22nd), by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) into the measures taken by the Financial Regulator as the financial crisis unfolded will be scrutinised by the D il Public Accounts Committee in the coming weeks.

The report evaluates how some of the significant decisions such as the supervision of financial institutions covered by the guarantee scheme and the transfer of loans by a director of one financial institute were handled. The report also contains a series of recommendations aimed at tightening up regulation.

In the coming weeks, the Public Accounts Committee will hold public meetings with the new Head of Financial Regulation at the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, the Head of the National Treasury Management Agency and with officials from the Department of Finance.

Committee Chairman, Bernard Allen TD said;
“The Committee broadly welcomes the publication of this report. There has been an acknowledgment that financial regulation failed dismally in its duty to monitor the sector and that major changes will be required to avoid the reoccurrence of such failings.

Up to the end of November last year, the State had directly spent a total of €11 billion on stabilising Irish banks. The principle remit of our Committee is to safeguard public funds and ensure that the taxpayer gets value for the money spent on its behalf. Therefore, the Committee intends to conduct a series of meetings with the main players in financial regulation and with those charged with monitoring how this huge sum is managed.

If there is to be proper accountability regarding how this massive amount of our money is spent, and transparency regarding any future outlay by the State into Irish banks, we need to have an opportunity to properly question those in charge of this process.

We will also want to question them on some of the recommendations contained in today’s report and how they will be addressed. It is clear that there cannot just be a continuation of the way things were done in the past and we are anxious to learn what changes are planned."

The Committee has scheduled a meeting with the head of the NTMA, John Corrigan on 22nd April, with officials from the Department of Finance on the 6th May and with the Central Bank’s Head of Financial Regulation, Matthew Elderfield on 13th May.