The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is to publish the details of contingency planning that occurred in the run up to the September 2008 State bank guarantee.
The PAC met this morning to discuss the contents of documents relating to the bank guarantee decision, provided to it by the Department of Finance.
The Committee intends to publish the documents on the Oireachtas website tomorrow.
Speaking today, PAC chairman Bernard Allen TD said: “The Committee has decided that in the public interest, and in order to ensure full accountability of the role the Department played in managing the banking crisis that this critical information should be made freely available.”
The committee will meet again next Thursday to examine the flow of information into the Department of Finance and the way it scrutinised the various options open to the State to ensure that there was not a collapse of the banking system, Mr Allen said.
Earlier this month, the Dáil's spending watchdog criticised the Department of Finance for its nine-week delay in producing crucial documents relating to the banking crisis.
Mr Allen received the documents, requested in early May, on July 8th and began circulating them to members the following day.
The documents from the department, the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator’s office relate to the period in the lead-up to the decision to guarantee Irish financial institutions on September 29th, 2008.
The files are said to be substantial but some sensitive information has been redacted. The PAC was due to discuss the information at a private meeting earlier this month but was unable to do so because the department was unable to make them available in time for that meeting.
Following a telephone call from Mr Allen to senior officials in the department, the files were made available. Members have been asked to respect the confidential nature of the documents.