More than 50 Documents on Bank Guarantee Scheme Not Released to Public Accounts Committee
30th July 2010
The Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a schedule of the key documents relating to the bank guarantee scheme which were not provided to it by the Department of Finance.
The PAC had previously received and published documentation on the planning that went on in the Department of Finance leading up to the implementation of the bank guarantee scheme on 29th September 2008.
However, the Committee was not provided with a large number of relevant documents as they were deemed not appropriate for release. The Committee was told that this was mainly because these documents were “subject to legal privilege” or were “institution specific.”
A list of the unrealised documents is now available at: http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Committees30thDail/PAC/Homepage.htm
Committee Chairman, Bernard Allen TD said;
“The Committee was somewhat disappointed that we did not receive the full schedule of documents regarding the bank guarantee scheme. In order for the Committee to establish if the taxpayer has received value for money we are keen to have access to all the relevant information.
We accept that there are certain documents containing advice from the Attorney General which are subject to legal privilege. However, I believe that copies of the letters containng the questions which prompted the advice from the Attorney General should be made freely available to the Committee.
This is why we have asked the Secretary General of the Department of Finance to look through each of these privileged documents with a view to the Committee being given copies of the letters to the Attorney General which resulted in this advice.
We hope to receive this detail at an early stage, so that any insights gained from it can contribute to the Committee’s continuing analysis of this crucial matter.”
The Committee has also published details requested from the Department on the Domestic Standing Group on Financial Stability.
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