Taoiseach says he is not ruling out Project Eagle inquiry
But he said he would like to know that an inquiry is warranted
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he is not ruling out an inquiry intoProject Eagle, the €1.6 billion sale of Nama's Northern Irish loan book, but said there was a process in place which should be followed before taxpayers' money is committed to such an investigation.
"I am not ruling out an inquiry but I would like to know that one has to be held," he told RTÉ Radio this morning, adding there was a process in place which should first be followed to establish if a commission of investigation or a tribunal of inquiry was warranted.
Speaking of the Comptroller & Auditor General's report into the sale, he said "let's get the report, let everybody read the report, lets see what questions need to be asked". He said the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should be allowed to do their duty when Nama appears before it on September 22. "Let's see the questions and answers given on September 22 and after by Nama," he said.
Kenny also said a cross-border investigation into the sale would be very difficult as it could struggle to compel witnesses outside the jurisdiction to appear.
"If an investigation is warranted, then so be it," he said, adding "we do need a logical process here to see what are the elements to be investigated if that be so."
Asked if the Fine Gael think-in currently taking place in Co Kildare would be his last, he said: "Certainly not".
"I am not going to walk away from the mandate I have been given to implement a very difficult, complicated and challenging agenda," he said, citing the packed agenda the government has to deal with including Brexit, the upcoming budget, housing and homelessness.
He said it was absolutely critical, given what is happening across Europe, that the government provide stability here.
"We have come a very long way in last six years and we are not going to wreck that progress with irresponsible politics," he said.
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