What we are seeing, yet again, is a hands-off Government when it comes to dealing with the banks. This State is reeling from a once-in-a-century economic catastrophe. That catastrophe was in large part precipitated by the Fianna Fáil golden circle and Anglo Irish Bank. In 2011, people right across the State voted to smash that golden circle and close the door forever on Anglo Irish Bank. They also voted to ensure this would never happen again. Many people invested their trust in the Labour Party to ensure that was the case.

The Siteserv debacle has demonstrated that, in a few short years, Fine Gael has become more Fianna Fáil than Fianna Fáil itself and the Labour Party is as useful as a mudguard on a tortoise. It bends the mind of people of my generation that despite the destruction of this State, both the golden circle and IBRC are back at centre stage. Last week, in response to demands for a commission of investigation into IBRC, the Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party said she wanted an independent inquiry by a competent authority.

Is the Minister happy that the review, which the Government has proposed, is a genuinely independent inquiry to be carried out by a competent authority, as demanded by his party leader, when it involves KPMG which played a central role in the sale of Siteserv? Is there not a glaring conflict of interest at the heart of this review, which renders it incapable of assuaging the public concerns that now exist with regard to the Government cover-up of this scandal? Will the Government now move to deal with these concerns by establishing a commission of investigation? Will the Minister guarantee that shareholder activity is contained within the scope of this commission of investigation?

What the debate over the past few days indicates is the utter bankruptcy of the Sinn Féin Party with regard to any kind of vision or any kind of economic future for this country or any kind of a coherent sense of what has to happen and what is happening in terms of restoring our economy, creating jobs-----

In Australia.

-----and facing the future in a confident way.

What about the homeless people?

There would be no recovery if we had listened to Sinn Féin and its leader and there certainly would be no recovery-----

They will be recovery for the wealthy.

----- if we were to follow the kind of policies, if one can even call them that, that Sinn Féin advocates.

In respect of the issue Deputy Tóibín raised, the review that has been announced by the Minister for Finance, as he well knows, will cover transactions that resulted in a capital loss to IBRC of at least €10 million during the period concerned, or that are specifically identified by the special liquidator as likely to give rise to potential public concern in respect of the ultimate returns to the taxpayer. The purpose of this review is to determine whether there is evidence of material deficiencies in IBRC's performance in respect of such transactions and related activities and management decisions and whether it can be concluded that the transactions were not commercially sound. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, has asked that the special liquidators carry out this review and provide a report of their findings before 31 August of this year. Following this, the report will be made available to relevant committees of the Oireachtas. The special liquidators are best placed to undertake such a review-----

Will it be independent?

-----thoroughly and expeditiously given their access to all the books and records of IBRC, the resources at their disposal to conduct such a review and the power set out under the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Act which allows the Minister to make this direction in the public interest.

To address potential conflicts of interest, with the agreement of the special liquidators, the retired High Court Judge, Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, is being appointed to monitor any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. This will ensure that the review process is robust. There will never be a situation where a person involved in a transaction will be involved in reviewing that transaction.

This review and report are to serve the public interest in light of recent speculation and they are not being undertaken as a result of any evidence that such deficiencies existed or that transactions were not commercially sound.

Is it going to be independent?

I note that the Minister dodged the question of whether it is going to be independent.

It is.

Despite reams of questions from Opposition Deputies, including my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, regarding the IBRC transactions, the Minister, "hands-off Noonan", refused to reveal very serious concerns expressed by his own officials about the series of IBRC transactions. Vital information was withheld from the Dáil. This Dáil was misled on the IBRC scandal and, to add insult to injury, the Minister comes in here today, representing the Labour Party in government, and attempts to justify the Government cover-up.

Where is the transparency?

Again I ask the Minister will he now put an end to this cover-up by declaring that the Government will set aside a farcical and fatally compromised review and initiate simply an independent inquiry, carried out by a competent authority, as demanded by his party leader last week?

I will ask the Minister one further question and I want him to listen to it because it is an important one. Will he inform the Dáil if members of the Cabinet are aware of any individual who was a shareholder of Siteserv who would have had access to IBRC information around the sale of Siteserv and who would have information around the tender of Irish Water and Siteserv? I will put that question again.

We have that, Deputy.

I will ask it again as it is very important.

Is it very important - what about the kangaroo courts?

Will the Minister inform the Dáil if members of the Cabinet are aware of any individual who was a shareholder of Siteserv who would have had access to IBRC information around the sale of Siteserv and who would have information around the Irish Water-Siteserv tender? I remind the Minister of the importance of this information and the damage done by the closed culture of the Minister for Finance over the past few weeks.

Do not forget the "T" word - "transparency".

It is a straightforward question.

It is a classic tactic of Sinn Féin to level allegations, which have no grounds and for which the Deputy has presented no grounds-----

It is a question.

You sound like P. J. Stone.

-----masquerading as a question. That is a classic tactic of the party.

Hear, hear.

Just answer the question.

There is absolutely no basis for that.

Do members of the Cabinet know?

I am a member of the Cabinet and I am certainly not aware, and I can only answer for myself, but I believe that the manner in which the Deputy-----

Is the Minister confident that other members of the Cabinet do not know?

-----poses questions, a little like the way his party colleagues, including Deputy McDonald, operate in this House, is to make allegations without any foundation-----

The Minister is dancing around the question.

-----leave them on the record and make no effort whatsoever to ensure-----

Hear, hear.

----- that there is any kind of a reasonable basis for what is being said.

Is the Minister confident that members of the Cabinet-----

Have any Labour Party TDs ever used parliamentary privilege?

That means-----

Has any Labour Party TD ever used parliamentary privilege?

-----that the Deputies opposite cannot actually be taken seriously in relation to anything they say.

The list of them would be as long as my arm.

Order, please.

If they come in and have something to say, they should have a basis for it. I believe that this inquiry is the correct way to proceed.

You sound like P. J. Stone.

I believe that it will be independent. I believe that it will report by the end of August.

One of the participants is KPMG.

I believe that Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, a retired High Court judge, will ensure that any conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, will be addressed. It would do well for this House for the Deputy opposite to see that the best way to proceed in this kind of matter is to have a robust investigation-----

By an independent authority.

Yes, an independent investigation, and to bring the results in here and pass them to a committee and deal with them at that stage, but that is not the way the Deputies opposite operate.

Does the Cabinet know of individuals?

Thank you.

They operate on the basis of smear and on the basis of groundless allegation-----

Does the Cabinet know?

-----and that is always the way they operate.

Hear, hear.