Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

The amendments that have been put forward by the Labour Party are sensible because they seek to give a parliamentary oversight to the process that is about to be undertaken here.

The amendment on the financial aspects — I refer specifically to amendment No. 24 — to the effect that an equity stake could be taken by the State in the event of a call on one of the loans is something that should be considered. The people of this country would then have some sort of a stake and say in the control of the banking system into the future.

The other issue relates to the power of the Minister for Finance. In any parliamentary democracy there must be checks and balances. What is being proposed by the Government in its current form gives undue power to the Minister for Finance and the amendments that we have put forward would seek to keep that in check.

I do not want to engage in a rhetorical speech here about the nature of global financial capitalism, but what we need in this country, which we can bring about only through our membership of the European Union, is a greater degree of regulation that will ensure that the confidence that has always been in the banking sector will continue.

Unlike Deputy Gogarty, I do not envisage that we should return to the gold standard.

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