Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Earlier, he outlined his plans in respect of AIB. Effectively, that institution will have become almost a nationalised entity by the time the process the Minister described concludes. Then there is Irish Nationwide, a tiny building society which has placed taxpayers - those who elect us to the Dáil - on the hook for over €5 billion. Can Members believe that?

Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide have always been at the rotten heart of Fianna Fáil strategy in respect of the bank guarantee. Fianna Fáil did not care that much about Bank of Ireland, AIB or the other institutions. All it cared about was its crony financial institutions, namely, Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, and the developers to whom they had loaned money. The two Brians, the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Lenihan, hoped against hope that somehow or other the country would turn a number of corners and that this would make matters less bad then they appeared.

Today, we have been given more bad news about the two institutions to which I refer. The Financial Times states that the cost in respect of Anglo Irish Bank will be €35 billion and €5 billion for the tiny building society that is known as Irish Nationwide. That is the pass to which the Minister and his leader, the Taoiseach, have brought this country. Today is "Black Thursday" and the Minister and his party, Fianna Fáil, will be remembered for visiting it upon this country.

The Minister stated that Commissioner Almunia welcomed what has happened. What has the Minister promised the Commissioner in return for saying that?

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