Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I applaud the decision taken by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance to bring this issue to the attention of the Government yesterday evening. It is in everyone's interest to take decisive and cohesive action on this issue. The international financial system has been affected by unprecedented turmoil and dislocation over recent months. Credit markets, which are central to meeting the medium-term funding needs of the financial system, have closed, in effect. Interbank lending rates have increased significantly, thereby escalating the cost of finance to financial institutions.

Recent developments in the United States have created major structural issues for the global financial system. When I visited the US recently, it was evident that these issues were being presented in a simplistic manner that was leading to polarisation. We should avoid such an approach here. I do not suggest that it is happening in this country. One of the reasons the US Congress did not come to a certain conclusion was that, from an early stage, the action proposed by the Executive there was presented as a bail-out for the elite at the expense of the person on the street.

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