The alleged leaking of a statement from the Oireachtas banking inquiry could undermine the work of the committee, Fianna Fáil said today.
Former Secretary General of the Department of Finance Kevin Cardiff is due to give evidence on Thursday but his statement was published in a Sunday newspaper.
Fianna Fáil's spokesman on public expenditure Sean Fleming said this was a "very serious matter" for the inquiry. He said: "We don't know the circumstances of whether it came from someone in the Oireachtas or outside of the Oireachtas.
“This could undermine the inquiry. I would be worried if there were attempt if there are moves by people — God knows who they may be — to undermine the banking inquiry.”
The inquiry is governed by strict legislation in comparison to other committees. The leaking of information carries a heavy fine or a possible imprisonment. Mr Fleming said that was the law and it needed to be followed no matter who leaked the information. The inquiry is due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue.
Mr Cardiff was in charge of the Department of Finance unit which had oversight of banks on "guarantee night", September 29th/30th 2008, placing him close to the late Brian Lenihan, then finance minister, and Brian Cowen, then taoiseach, when the fateful decision was made.
Earlier, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said it was “a pity” that Mr Cardiff’s evidence was leaked to the media. Mr Donohoe said it was “a pity that this quantity of evidence has emerged in the public domain before Mr Cardiff himself has had an opportunity to present it to the Oireachtas later on this week.
“That being said though I think the banking inquiry has already shown what a valuable role it can play in allowing different views to emerge in relation to the causes of our crisis, and allowing different figures who were involved in the run up to the crisis come out and give their case as to what happened”, he added.
“ I think while the emergence of his testimony now is unfortunate, I don’t believe it will in any way derail the hearing later on this week or derail the inquiry which is shown it can play a very valuable role in understanding the different things that lead to the downfall of our banking system.
“I’m absolutely confident that everybody involved in the banking inquiry is playing their part in making sure that it is an impartial and valuable process”, Mr Donohoe.
