ANGLO IRISH BANK:TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen must disclose to gardaí details of a phone call with then Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick in March 2008, according to Fine Gael justice spokesman Alan Shatter.
Mr Shatter was not suggesting Mr Cowen had “done anything criminal”, but he said the investigation into Anglo could not be properly concluded until full details of that conversation were revealed.
Mr Cowen has previously confirmed that when he was minister for finance he took the call from Mr FitzPatrick relating to businessman Seán Quinn’s investment in the bank, of which Mr Cowen has said he was already aware.
“I’m calling on behalf of Fine Gael on Micheál Martin as leader of Fianna Fáil to publicly state whether he believes the gardaí should discuss this matter with Brian Cowen, whether Brian Cowen should assist the gardaí in their investigations,” Mr Shatter said.
“I’m not smearing Brian Cowen. I’m simply saying the fact that he was minister for finance and the fact that he is now Taoiseach doesn’t grant him immunity from assisting the gardaí.”
Questioned by reporters later, Mr Martin said he did not think Mr Shatter’s remarks merited comment and a spokesman for the Taoiseach did not comment.
Mr Shatter was speaking at the launch of Fine Gael’s policy on white-collar crime and plans to tag sex offenders. Fine Gael was determined that “rogue bankers” found to have broken the law would be punished, he said. The party was concerned at the length of time taken to complete investigations and would ensure the authorities were properly resourced to bring inquiries to speedy conclusions.
