Lenihan rejects Opposition claim on Nama 'gags' clause

MINISTER FOR Finance Brian Lenihan has dismissed Opposition claims that a clause in the legislation on impaired banks “gags” senior officials in expressing their opinions on Government policy.

He said it offers them “protection” against Opposition TDs.

Fine Gael and Labour deputies claimed that the amendment in the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Bill was a direct response to comments by the National Treasury Management Agency chief executive Dr Michael Somers when he told a Dáil committee that he knew very little about the plans for Nama.

Pat Rabbitte (Labour) said “bejaysus this is no place for vengeance and that’s what you’re installing here because of what Dr Somers said”.

He added: “There is a long-serving convention at the public accounts committee that accounting officers don’t comment on policy”. As a consequence “there is absolutely no need to give it expression in law”.

But Mr Lenihan insisted the measure was to protect the chairman and chief executive of Nama from “attempts to mobilise them as agents for Opposition parties in the destruction of Government policy”, at the Committee on Public Accounts.

The Minister said “there is precedence in this in the Employment Equality Act, the Garda Síochána Act and the consumer protection Act”. He later added that it was a “matter of the proper relationship between this House and the executive which it holds to account. There is nothing unusual in the provision”.

Labour spokeswoman Joan Burton described the measure as a “gagging” order and suggested “we have here perhaps the revenge of the Department of Finance”.

Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said officials would also be disbarred from saying that Nama is working well under the section. Michael D Higgins (Labour) described it as “profoundly unaccountable and profoundly undemocratic”.

Mr Rabbitte asked: “If all wisdom is reposed in the Department of Finance and the Central Bank and the regulator why are we here? We wouldn’t be here at all if the Department of Finance, the Central Bank and the regulator did their job. There’s no point blaming Lehman Brothers, no point even blaming the Lenihan brothers. This is a function of the watchman being asleep.

“Somebody sat back and watched a small bank grow and grow like topsy until it threatened the entire banking system in this country. They knew, they had the information and they did nothing. And now the Minister wants to tell us it would be dreadful if the accountable person were to express an opinion.”

Mr Rabbitte added: “You can’t stand over this Minister. It’s entirely wrong. It’s a dangerous mindset that says only the departments of government can be entrusted with certain information. When you got the bloody information in the departments of government I mentioned, you didn’t do very much with it and we are where we are; the country is where it is.”

Mr Lenihan replied: “It is the function of the Opposition to criticise Government policy and chairmen and chief executive deserve some protection while they observe that happy pursuit.”