ANGLO IRISH Bank has been made exempt from scrutiny by the Ombudsman, Minister of State for Finance Martin Mansergh has told an Oireachtas committee.
The committee on finance and the public service yesterday discussed legislation to expand the Ombudsman’s powers.
More than 120 bodies are being brought within the Ombudsman’s remit for the first time.
However, Dr Mansergh said Anglo Irish Bank should be an “exempt agency” in the Ombudsman Bill, “thereby making it clear that the Ombudsman will be precluded from reviewing actions taken by or on behalf of the bank”.
Dr Mansergh said the bank was a commercial body and was already subject to scrutiny from the Financial Services Ombudsman, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
Fine Gael deputy Kieran O’Donnell said Anglo Irish Bank should not be excluded from the Ombudsman’s remit as it could no longer be described as a commercial body. “It’s fully owned by taxpayers,” he said.
Labour deputy Joan Burton said she understood “technically” why such organisations were being made exempt.
“But they don’t deserve it,” she said. “What these people have done in terms of damage to the economy is simply so staggering.”
Dr Mansergh said he shared Ms Burton’s indignation. However, the Ombudsman was primarily an agent of the public in relation to public administration.
It would not be sensible to attempt to centralise all forms of recourse through the Ombudsman’s office, he said.
The 120 bodies being brought within the Ombudsman’s remit for the first time include the Courts Service, excluding the judiciary. The figure also includes 38 higher education institutes and 33 VECs.
