Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a dhéanamh leis an Teachta Joe Higgins ar bhás a mháthair agus comhbhrón a thabhairt dá teaghlach uilig.

I am trying very hard to understand the role, remit and purpose of the public interest directors who serve on the boards of the banks. In some cases, some of these directors are senior members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party and some are former Ministers. I have learned that these directors are exceptionally well paid. Alan Dukes received €102,000 in 2009; Ray MacSharry received €69,000, and in 2011, for 60 days work, Dick Spring received the mighty sum of €59,000. These amounts are on top of their ministerial or Member's pensions.

That is small beer in comparison to the sum of €25 million.

What are the functions of public interest directors? We learned last week from Alan Dukes, a former leader of Fine Gael, that he was aware of the existence and content of the Anglo tapes. Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance have said they did not know about the existence of these tapes, but clearly, it is in the public interest that they should know. Alan Dukes says he knew about them. What did he do about the existence and content of these tapes which have angered and scandalised so many ordinary decent people? Does the Taoiseach know whether he reported them to the Department of Finance and the Central Bank? I cannot believe Fianna Fáil did not know what was going on and that the Government did not know either. Alan Dukes is a former leader of the Fine Gael Party. He says he was aware of the tapes and their content, but we are led to believe he did not tell anyone. Who was he supposed to tell? Who are the other public interest directors who are still in place? To whom are they supposed to report?

The public interest directors were appointed by the late Minister for Finance, our late former colleague, Brian Lenihan. As a public interest director, I had words with the former leader of our party in respect of our party's view that Anglo Irish Bank should be wound down. I listened to the interview given by Alan Dukes last week and he clearly indicated that he had given all of the documentation of which he had possession to the Garda, in respect of an inquiry following the serving of warrants by the Garda, for transmission to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the preparation of books of evidence. He confirmed that this documentation had been handed on by Anglo Irish Bank. He also confirmed, in respect of the decision to be made by the Government, that as a public interest director he was more than willing to come before any such inquiry or committee to answer any question put to him regarding his knowledge, information and responsibility as a public interest director of that former bank.

The Taoiseach has avoided my question entirely. I asked him what was the function of public interest directors. They may have been appointed by the previous Government, but they were retained in place by the Government. What is their function? It would only be news if Alan Dukes had said he would not go forward to any inquiry. He has stated the obvious. What is his function? These directors are public interest directors. To whom are they supposed to report in the public interest? It is very clear that they are not acting in the public interest. It is my strong suspicion that they are there to act in the political interest and keep the status quo intact. That is clear if we look at the record. I remember that the Taoiseach once said he would keep a report card on Ministers. He has got rid of that idea for Ministers, but surely if he looked at the report card on these folk, he would see there was room to change the system. We were told they had been appointed to act as watchdogs for ordinary decent citizens. That was the spin behind it, but, clearly, they are lapdogs. What is the Taoiseach going to do? Some of these directors are still in place. They are there on his watch and he cannot blame Fianna Fáil for them. They are described as public interest directors. I asked what their function was, but the Taoiseach did not answer. I would like him to answer that question now. Will he tell us to whom the public directors in place in the other banks are supposed to report back?

As I understand it, the appointments of public interest directors by the late Minister were made from outside the bank circle. However, as directors, they must adhere to company law. I know that Alan Dukes, a former distinguished Minister, is nobody's lapdog. He has regularly attended Dáil committees and just last week said he was willing to attend any inquiry, investigation or committee we set up and to answer every question asked.

What is his function?

The appointments were made quite a number of years ago. They were additional directors from outside the bank circle but are bound by company law. Whatever information this particular public interest director has, he is quite willing to talk on it during any investigation or at any committee or inquiry we set up. It is important to remind the Deputy that Mr. Dukes, as he would be well aware, cannot cross over into the independent work ongoing in the context of the preparation for criminal trials in respect of which charges have been preferred against a number of individuals. An inquiry or investigation is one process, but the criminal process is independent of it and operates through the courts where justice is dispensed by a judge and jury. Alan Dukes has already pointed out publicly that the information available on the tapes was transmitted to the Garda and that he will have no difficulty, as a public interest director, in attending Oireachtas committees, inquiries or investigations or whichever option the Government decides to follow in due course.