Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Taoiseach seems to think that the euro that will be taken out of the pockets of families later this evening is different from the one that is paid to the banks. It is not. It is the same euro with a harp on one side and a little picture of Europe on the other. The idea that somehow it is a different kind of money is misleading people.

As we are just about five hours away from hearing what pain is going to be inflicted on families in this country, cuts in child benefit, in welfare, in the pay of people paying it out, to raise €4 billion, how many billion euro of the people's money has been paid over to the banks this year? As I read it, €4 billion has been paid to Anglo Irish Bank, €3.5 billion to the Bank of Ireland and another €3.5 billion to AIB, and that is before we come to NAMA. Will the Taoiseach tell the people, before he takes money out of their pockets this afternoon, how many billion euro have been paid this year to the banks?

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