Fine Gael has today called for an interim report to be published on investigation into Anglo Irish Bank.
The party urged Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to announce when the Garda file on the investigation is going to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Speaking after a Fine Gael front bench meeting today, finance spokesman Michael Noonan said the slow pace of progress in the investigation was in "stark contrast" to investigations in the US where almost 50 prosecutions had already been secured following a number of probes into financial wrongdoing in the banking sector.
Mr Noonan expressed concern that the reason for the slow pace of progress was down to a recognition of the lack of political will within Government for progress to be made.
He went on to call for an interim report to be produced by the Director of Corporate Enforcement to help restore public confidence about corporate malpractice in the banking sector.
“Why are we still waiting for the Garda file on the Anglo investigation to be sent to the DPP? Elsewhere there has been swift action to deal with criminal wrongdoing but here we are, nearly two years into the crisis that has crippled our economy, and there is still no sign of any prosecution being brought forward," said Mr Noonan.
“We cannot leave wrongdoing unpunished. We are two years on from the emergence of this crisis, more than long enough for these matters to have been dealt with. The real fear is that action hasn’t been taken at different levels on this issue because there is a realisation that there isn’t a political will to see such action taken," he added.
The Garda investigation, which is looking into the €7 billion transactions between Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life & Permanent (I&LP), is now believed to be in the advanced stages of interviewing Anglo staff to determine who reported and sanctioned them.
The €7.45 billion funding arrangements agreed with IL&P at Anglo’s crucial financial year-end period at September 2008 are the current focus of the Garda. The IL&P transactions flattered Anglo’s balance sheet at the end of that month, masking heavy withdrawals of customer deposits at the peak of the financial crisis.
The Commercial Court was told last month that it could take up to two years to complete any criminal prosecution arising from the ODCE’s investigation into Anglo.
