Name the banking golden circle, demands Gilmore

Posted on February 17, 2009 at 07:45 PM

This afternoon during Leaders' Questions, the Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore pressed the Taoiseach to name the banking golden circle that has emerged from within Anglo Irish Bank.

Deputy Gilmore said: "The Taoiseach said he knew about the Quinn situation in March and was resolved in July with the statement from the Quinn group.

"We now know the resolution involved an arrangement whereby Anglo Irish Bank provided €300m we are told to 10 wealthy individuals who in turn used that money to buy up shares in Anglo.

"We also know the loan arrangement which Anglo made with the individuals was in very favourable terms to the point that there wasn't security against the loan other than the shares themselves.

"The net effect of this is that the taxpayer is left with the bill for the 300m following the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank."

Deputy Gilmore demanded answers to a number of questions:

• Did the Financial Regulator and the Department of Finance and the Minister for Finance, or any of them, know about the arrangement involving the 10 individuals when the decision was taken to proceed with the guarantee in September?
• Was the arrangement involving the 10 individuals included in and described in the Price Waterhouse Report that you didn't get and the Minister for Finance didn't read in full?
• Did you and the Government know about the arrangements involving the 10 individuals when you made the decision to proceed with the nationalisation of Anglo and if you did know why wasn't the House told about it?
• Who are the 10 people in this golden circle?

The full debate from today's Leaders Questions can be read in the Dáil transcripts which you can view on the Oireachtas website.

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