The President of the Labour Party, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, recently called on the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to "deliver on her promises" in relation to exposing wrongdoing uncovered by the inquiries she has initiated over the past three years.
The inquiries have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, but as yet have led to only one published report and no prosecutions. Over the past two months, summonses were issued against a small building firm called Faxhill Homes Ltd.
A significant amount of activity and expenditure has to date failed to produce the names and convictions which the public has come to expect, given the hints Ms Harney has made concerning the gravity of what has been uncovered and the existence of a "golden circle".
That said several confidential reports have been passed on to various authorities. Also, a confidential report by authorised officer Mr Gerard Kelly into Ansbacher Cayman Ltd given to the Revenue, was used as part of its Ansbacher inquiry, which has already reaped £3 million (€3.81 million).
That money came from payments on account made by less than 20 of the 120 persons identified in Mr Ryan's report. More is expected, though Revenue chairman Mr Dermot Quigley has said the Ansbacher issue is a "very complex" one. There have been other indications that the secretive deposits entail complex legal structures which will make it difficult to prove the law was broken. This is no doubt one reason for the delay in the advancement of some of the inquiries initiated by Ms Harney.
The names of some tax defaulters who used the deposits are likely to be published in Iris Oifigiuil this autumn and winter.
Reports completed by authorised officers appointed under section 19 of the Companies Act 1990 must, under the law, remain confidential.
They can, however, form the basis of applications to the High Court for the appointment by the court of inspectors. During an application in September 1999 for the appointment of inspectors to Ansbacher Cayman Ltd, the Cayman Islands bank associated with the Ansbacher deposits, a lengthy affidavit based on an authorised officer's inquiry was read to the court.
A senior civil servant, Mr Paul Appleby, said Mr Ryan's report indicated it was likely that the total assets of the off-shore trusts and companies linked to the Ansbacher deposits were of the order of several hundred million pounds.
He also said the Minister believed the business of Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd was carried on with intent to defraud the Revenue Commissioners. Mr Appleby, in his affidavit, identified a number of companies which had dealings with Ansbacher Cayman. He also stated that, at one stage, more than half the board of Cement Roadstone had dealings with the unauthorised bank.
In this way, some of the details contained in Mr Ryan's report were made public, although overall the content remains secret.
However, it seems inevitable that the Ansbacher names will be published. Ms Harney's September 1999 application to the High Court led to the appointment of three inspectors under section 8 of the Companies Act: retired judge Mr Justice Declan Costello; accountant Mr Paul Rowan; and barrister Ms Noreen Mackey.
Ms Harney has said she expects the inspectors' report to be published. It will name customers of the unauthorised bank and what offences they may have committed.
Meanwhile, the same authorised officer who investigated Ansbacher Cayman, Mr Ryan, has completed his report into Irish Intercontinental Bank (IIB), one of the two Irish banks which held deposits for Ansbacher Cayman. Ms Harney is considering whether to apply to the High Court for the appointment of an inspector. If she does so, it is likely that aspects of that bank's involvement with the Ansbacher deposits will also be made public.
When the Dail resumes in the autumn, legislation is to be introduced which will establish a Director of Corporate Enforcement office. The director will take on the responsibilities currently held by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to inspectors and authorised officers appointed under the Companies Act.
