TÁNAISTE MARY Coughlan has confirmed that the Government has approached an expert to conduct one of the two scoping investigations into the banking crisis.
Ms Coughlan said yesterday that the individual had not yet indicated to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan whether he or she was willing to accept the position.
“A person has been asked to consider the position and the Minister is awaiting their decision,” Ms Coughlan told the Dáil. She was responding to questions from Labour deputy leader Joan Burton during the order of business.
Ms Coughlan said the appointment of the international expert to chair one of the two inquiries – the other is being conducted by the governor of the Central Bank, Prof Patrick Honohan – would be “a matter for Government”.
The earliest an appointment could be made is on Thursday, when the Cabinet meets for the second time this week. An extra Thursday meeting of Cabinet is to become a relatively regular feature this year, The Irish Timesunderstands, after its introduction in the run-up to the budget.
The Department of Finance confirmed last night that a person has been approached but would make no comment on either the individual’s identity or nationality.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has vowed that if his party is returned to government, it will establish a full public inquiry into the September 2008 decision to guarantee deposits in Irish banks.
Mr Gilmore said yesterday that if the Fianna Fáil-Green Coalition does not extend the timeframe of the investigations into banking to include the blanket guarantee on deposits, he will commit his party to establish an investigation upon taking power.
“It is only through transparency and accountability that we will restore trust in public life in Ireland, trust in the Irish banking system, and with it the confidence we need to drive our economic recovery,” said Mr Gilmore.
The Labour leader was speaking at the Irish launch of the Trust Barometer, an annual report on the level of trust in public institutions, compiled by public relations firm Edelman.
He said that the research clearly demonstrated that trust in public institutions, in banks and in economic analysts had plummeted.
“Trust in banks is down 16 per cent, indicating less than one in four Irish people trust them and while it appears trust in institutions is returning elsewhere, in Ireland it is continuing to decline,” he said.
He said the public was entitled to know why the free-wheeling Anglo Irish Bank was included in the guarantee, why subordinated debt was included and about the Government’s true knowledge of the state of Irish banking.
Ms Coughlan, speaking in the Dáil, said the inquiries devised by Government would be time-efficient and cost-effective and would underpin confidence in the banks.
She said she was “not completely satisfied” that the amount of working capital made available by banks was sufficient for the needs of the business community.
She was responding to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who said he had dealt with seven well-run businesses on Monday who were being “screwed by the banks”.
Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton said yesterday that rating agency Standard Poor’s downgrade of most of the Irish banks reinforces recent reports that their loan books were much worse than the Government suggested when it passed the Nama legislation.
“This is yet another blow to public confidence in the Nama project to which Fianna Fáil and the Greens have committed Irish taxpayers,” said Mr Bruton, who suggested they cast doubt on the workability of Nama.
His party colleague Michael Noonan echoed Mr Gilmore’s criticisms on the terms of reference. He said the Government must extend the period under investigation to the end of 2009.
“I believe an open, transparent inquiry can have a cathartic effect on public trust with the public able to see on a continuous basis . . . how the great and the good got us into these difficulties,” he said. “However, the Government has instead decided to hold the inquiry in secret with only a limited role for the Dáil. This is the wrong way to go about it.”