The chair of the Oireachtas Finance Committee, Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, has called for an independent inquiry into the Davy bond controversy.
There had been enough secrecy, he said. It was not “a private matter” as had been claimed by Davy chairman John Corrigan.
Mr McGuinness told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that the legal profession had questions to answer on the issue. There was an obligation on the legal profession that surpassed client privilege, that when they saw something wrong they had to report it.
“Why didn't that happen?”
The culture of entitlement within the sector needed to be rooted out, he said. There had to be a full inquiry to see if there were other similar transactions. The committee had an obligation to find out the truth of what had happened.
Mr McGuinness also said that the Government should ask the US and the UK for spare vaccines and should not rely solely on the EU and its purchase power to source vaccines.
The Government was not doing enough to roll out the vaccine, he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
The “big” pharma companies were “playing hardball” with regard to costs and deliveries and Ireland needed to play hardball with those companies and also the EU and instead should ask the US and the UK for their spare vaccines.
“What’s wrong with asking? Why not ask the US or other European countries?
There was a need to go beyond the current sources of the vaccine, he added. The Government should use every possibility to get the vaccine and proceed with the rollout.
Mr McGuinness said he knew of a US supplier who was willing to provide a supply of the vaccine to Ireland.
