Alan Dukes denies any impropriety in €45m IBRC sale of Siteserv

Former chairman of the IBRC Alan Dukes has "categorically rejected" any suggestion of impropriety in relation to the bank's sale of Siteserv to a company controlled by Denis O'Brien.

Mr Dukes said all aspects of the deal were considered and had been “the best course of action available” in the interests of the State.

His statement follows calls on the Government to order a full independent inquiry into the sale, alongside other IBRC transactions.

Independent TD Catherine Murphy obtained ministerial briefing notes which show concerns within the Department of Finance that "a large number of transactions were poorly executed" by IBRC.

Siteserv was sold to Denis O’Brien’s Millington for €45 million and was singled out for criticism by officials in one briefing document.

“The Department of Finance was kept informed throughout the process,” Mr Dukes said in his statement.

“Some time later, the Department of Finance raised questions about the sale, apparently on foot of public comments by a company which had made a non-compliant bid.

“These questions were examined in detail during discussions between departmental officials and senior management of the bank. They were again discussed at a meeting between the Minister for Finance and representatives of the board at a meeting in July.

"During that discussion, the board representatives informed the Minister that the matter had been referred to the Central Bank, which had no comments to make. At the conclusion of that discussion, the Minister professed himself satisfied with the bank's reasoning and decisions."

‘Dáil question’

Mr Dukes said the Minister did not ask him to arrange a “full independent enquiry” into the deal.

“Contrary to what was stated in answer to a recent Dáil question, the matter was not raised by the Secretary General of the Department with the bank’s CEO in August 2012,” he said.

“It is worth recalling that the sale took place over two years before there was any discussion of a public contract for the installation of water meters.”

Of the internal Department of Finance memoranda released under Freedom of Information legislation containing comments critical of the bank’s management and performance, he said they were “both partial and incomplete”

“[They] are merely one side of a story of strained relations on which I am reluctant, for the moment, to comment any further,” he said.

“In presenting the proposal to liquidate the bank to the Dáil in February 2013, the Minister presented a very different and more accurate view.”