Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute to what can only be described as a farce of parliamentary democracy in this country. This is a lousy Bill. We all know that tough decisions must be made and that the deficit must be closed, but that is not why this is a lousy Bill. It is a lousy Bill because it does not represent tough decisions. In January last year, a senior unguaranteed bond relating to Anglo Irish Bank for €1.25 billion fell due. The bond was bought in 2007. According to the rules under which that bond was bought, rules fully understood by the people who bought it, no more than a few hundred million euro should have been paid out. Instead, the Government paid out €1.25 billion plus profits.

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