Noonan to request banks to preserve tapes for Oireachtas inquiry

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is to write to the banks tomorrow requesting them to preserve any tapes they have for the Government's proposed banking inquiry, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Mr Kenny said there was also information available in the Department of Finance and the Garda had taken copies of documents. "There is not a series of tape decks in the department similar to those contained in the banks,'' he added.

The Taoiseach was replying in the Dail this afternoon to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who said the ongoing revelations from the Anglo Irish Bank tapes continued to anger and outrage citizens. He asked if there were similar tapes in the other banks.

Mr Adams expressed surprise that the Minister was writing to the banks tomorrow, given the passage of time since the banking collapse. He asked if there was one law for the well connected and the rich, a different law for citizens, and no law for some.

“I think that the Government’s handling of these matters has been absolutely dismal,’’ he added.

Mr Kenny said the Government had set in place an entirely new system of regulation and monitoring of the banks. He added that Mr Adams was wrong when he suggested the Government was only acting now.

“There is a legal requirement on the banks to retain those tapes for a period of time,’’ he added.

“The Minister’s letter is merely a reminder to them to live up to their responsibilities, in the sense of preserving those tapes to be available for public information purposes and for the banking inquiry to be set up under the parliamentary system.’’