McCreevy defends O'Flaherty nomination to EIB

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has strongly defended his nomination of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty to the European Investment Bank, insisting that the State was lucky he was available.

Speaking on the margins of yesterday's annual general meeting of the EIB, Mr McCreevy said he had informed the Greeks and the Danes, who share the rotating seat on the management committee, of Mr O'Flaherty's background and of the "small difficulty in 1999" which had resulted in his resignation.

They had given their approval in writing ahead of the announcement of the nomination, the Minister said.

No other country had expressed any reservations, he said, and the issue had not come up yesterday.

The president of the EIB, Mr Philippe Maystadt, the former Belgian finance minister, refused to be drawn on the issue beyond describing the qualifications for appointment. There were "no special qualifications," he said, "but you know the job that has to be done, so someone with some expertise in financial or legal matters . . ."

Could the bank's standing with the public be enhanced, he was asked, by an appointment system that was more transparent or was legitimised by, say, hearings in the European Parliament?

"Anything I could say on the issue could be interpreted as a comment on a matter before the courts," Mr Maystadt replied.

Bank officials confirmed that they had not received any request to put the nomination of Mr O'Flaherty on yesterday's agenda. Mr McCreevy insisted, however, that it had been made clear to him at the last meeting that the vacancy arose at the time of the a.g.m. and "procedures were in train".

In the meantime, pending the Irish nomination, the term of the current incumbent of the Irish/Danish/Greek seat, the Greek representative, will be extended.