Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

People are in a dire position. I would like to echo the sentiments expressed by Deputy Higgins. It is time to look long and hard into the worthiness or unworthiness of the behaviour of the institutions over the past number of years. There is time to do some rehabilitation as well as restructuring. It is not all about numbers; it is about people's lives, families and businesses. Private debt, in addition to national debt, is a huge millstone around the recovery of the national economy.

We must be brave. It is about time the precedent set yesterday by the chief executive of Bank of Ireland's competitor bank, who took a reduction of 15% from the capped ceiling, was followed.

The Taoiseach, who spends every single day, from 6 a.m. until midnight, working for the people of this country is on a fraction of the salaries and pensions of people in the banking sector.