Minister says review of Siteserv sale will be independent

Minister for Communications Alex White has insisted that the investigation into the controversial sale of construction services company Siteserv will be independent. He said that retired High Court judge Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill would ensure that any conflicts of interest were dealt with, following the appointment of KPMG to review the transaction.

Accountancy and consultancy firm KPMG was involved in the sale of Siteserv to businessman Denis O’Brien’s firm Millington for €45 million, at a loss to the taxpayer of €105 million.

Sinn Féin enterprise spokesman Peadar Tóibín had accused Fine Gael of becoming “more Fianna Fáil than Fianna Fáil themselves and the Labour Party is as much use as a mudguard on a tortoise”.

Deficiencies

The Meath West TD claimed the Government was elected to “smash the golden circle” and close Anglo Irish Bank forever. But, he claimed, this administration was no different from the previous coalition.

The circumstances of the sale of Siteserv, and the emergence of concerns among Department of Finance officials, has led to a review of the transaction to establish whether there were deficiencies in how the sale was conducted and if it was commercially sound.

Describing the Minister for Finance as “Michael hands-off Noonan”, Mr Tóibín claimed the Dáil had been “misled” on the issue and accused the Government of a “cover-up”. He called for shareholder activity to be included in investigations.

He also said it was important to ask “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”.

“I believe this inquiry is the correct way to proceed, that it will be independent and the judge will ensure that any conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest will be addressed,” the Minister said.