Commission of Investigation into the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC)
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
The government has established a commission to investigate into matters in respect of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (IBRC) and to make any reports required under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 in relation to its investigation.
The commission is required to investigate certain transactions, activities and management decisions at the IBRC which occurred between 21 January 2009 (the date of the nationalisation of IBRC), and 7 February 2013 (the date of the appointment of the special liquidators to IBRC).
Justice Brian Cregan of the High Court was appointed sole member of the commission on 9 July 2015.
The commission has a number of legal and administrative staff appointed to assist the sole member in his investigation.
The order establishing the commission provides that, “The commission shall, subject to section 6(6) of the Act, submit to the Taoiseach its final report in relation to its investigation no later than 31 December, 2015”.
Section 33(3) of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 requires the commission to submit an interim report to the specified minister with each request for an extension of the timeframe for the submission of its final report.
The commission submitted a request for an extension of time to an Taoiseach together with its first interim report on 13 November 2015. By letter dated 22 December 2015, an Taoiseach revised the timeframe for the submission of the commission’s final report until the end of April 2016.
The commission submitted a request for an extension of time to an Taoiseach together with its second interim report on 15 April 2016. By letter dated 26 April 2016, an Taoiseach revised the timeframe for the submission of the commission’s final report until the end of June 2016.
The commission submitted a request for an extension of time to an Taoiseach together with its third interim report on 27 June 2016. By letter dated 27 June 2016, an Taoiseach revised the timeframe for the submission of the commission’s final report until the end of October 2016.
In light of the commission’s interim reports, the Oireachtas passed the Commission of Investigation (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) Bill 2016 in July 2016. The Bill was signed by the President on 27 July 2016.
A copy of the Act is available here .
The Minister for Justice signed the commencement order on 30 July, 2016, and the Commission of Investigation (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) Act 2016 commenced in its entirety from 1 August 2016.
The government also made an order on 27 July 2016, amending the commission’s terms of reference.
A copy of that order is available here .
The commission’s amended terms of reference provide that in the first module of its work, the commission shall investigate the transaction in relation to Siteserv Plc which has been identified as a matter of significant public concern in Dáil Éireann.
Following the amendment of the commission’s terms of reference the government published in Iris Oifigiúil the amended terms of reference and a statement of the estimated costs to be incurred by the commission in conducting its investigation and the timeframe for the submission of the commission’s final report on its first module.
A copy of the publication in Iris Oifigiúil is available here .
The revised timeframe for the submission of the commission’s final report on its first module is by the end of 2017.
A copy of the order establishing the commission is available here .
The commission was established pursuant to the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. A copy of the Act is available here .
1. The commission shall investigate all transactions, activities and management decisions (‘transactions’), other than those relating solely to the acquisition of assets by the National Asset Management Agency, which occurred between 21 January 2009 (being the date of the nationalisation of IBRC) and 7 February 2013 (being the date of the appointment of the special liquidators to IBRC) (the 'relevant period'); and which either:
2. The purposes for which each such transaction referred to above are to be investigated are the following (and accordingly the commission’s terms of reference extend to investigating):
3. The report to be made by the commission in relation to the foregoing investigations shall:
4. The commission shall report on any other matters of concern arising from its investigation of the above matters and make any further recommendations as the commission sees fit.
5. The commission shall exercise discretion in relation to the scope and intensity of the investigation as it considers necessary and appropriate, having regard to the general objectives of the investigation.
6. In these terms of reference:
The commission has adopted rules and procedures for the receiving and recording of evidence and the receiving of submissions.
Rules and Procedures of the Commission of Investigation into Irish Bank Resolution Corporation
The Commission of Investigation into matters of significant public concern in respect of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (“IBRC”) was established by Order of the Government.
The commission has prepared the following notice for all persons who give evidence to the commission:
IBRC Commission Section 13 Witness Notice
Witness Notice, furnished pursuant to Section 13 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004.
The commission made a Determination on 5 November 2015 in respect of an asserted duty of confidentiality and a claim of legal advice privilege over documents furnished to the commission by the joint special liquidators of IBRC.
Documents furnished by the Special Liquidators of IBRC
Documents furnished by the Special Liquidators of IBRC
The commission made a determination on 6 November 2015, in respect of an asserted duty of confidentiality and a claim of legal advice privilege over documents furnished to the commission by the Department of Finance. A copy of the determination is available here.
The commission made a determination on 16 December 2015, in respect of an asserted duty of confidentiality over documents furnished to the commission by the Irish Stock Exchange.
Documents furnished by the Department of Finance
Documents furnished by the Department of Finance
The IBRC Commission is an independent statutory commission established under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 and any queries in relation to its work should be directed to the commission (see above).