Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleagues, Deputies Alan Shatter and Michael Noonan, for bringing forward this very important motion. As stated in the motion, the people are clearly angry and upset with the Government's delay in taking action against the bankers who were responsible for bringing this country into the abyss. Every day in the newspapers one can read a story related to banking. The banking crisis has dominated this country in the past two years. We are two years down the road in regard to an investigation specifically related to Anglo Irish Bank yet no one has been prosecuted. No conviction has taken place. It is a complex investigation but two years is a long time. If we look across the Atlantic to America and see the expediency, on behalf of the US Government, in putting bankers in prison and holding people to account, we can see that we have much more to learn in this country.

If the political will existed in Government, the Garda and the Director of Corporate Enforcement would be properly resourced and would have completed this investigation at top speed. That has not happened, however, because the political will is unfortunately not there. What we need is a full statement from the Minister for Justice and Law Reform on why it has taken two years to get to this point. Will the investigation move further afield - will more investigative work be required overseas, for instance? When will the investigation be wrapped up? As other speakers have said, tribunals have dragged on for 15 years. This investigation will not be benchmarked against that, but we need some expediency. The people of Ireland are not willing to move on until there is accountability. To date, as I said, no banker has gone to jail or handed back his or her pension. The golden handshakes that certain individuals were paid have not been returned. Until that happens, the people of Ireland will not be willing to forgive.

In December we will face one of the harshest budgets in this country's history. A total of €50 billion in taxpayers' money has now gone into the banking sector to prop up some of these banks, so we need to see action. The Government must be condemned for its incompetence in dealing with the banking crisis. It has made one bad decision after another since September 2008. If anyone reads the two reports produced by Regling and Watson and Professor Honohan, he or she will see an indictment of the Government. Much of what happened in this country was home-made and resulted from the property market being allowed to go out of control. Professor Honohan's report clearly states that there was an unhealthy relationship between senior political figures and certain people in Anglo Irish Bank who were well liked within political circles, and this clearly played a role.

There are still 32 directors in some of the Irish banks. If the Minister really wants a fresh start he will get rid of those who were there at the time of the crisis in Irish banking.

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