Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have two questions for the Minister. One is broad and the other is specific.

Across the early phases of the banking union that the Minister has described, is it not likely that we could face the risk of real fragmentation within the European banking system? Let us consider what has occurred in the sovereign debt markets. For a while, the financial markets lent to countries as if no country could go bust. Ireland and Germany got money at the same rate as Greece. However, we are now going to be in a position whereby explicitly there will be a risk that banks can go bust and we will have a way of dealing with it. Financial markets will lend to banks pricing in that risk and one bank will lend to another bank pricing in that risk. Will we not face real pressure on the banking system during that period?

My second question is specific. A constituent who heard about the proposal on the radio put it to me that his family has all its money in a single joint bank account. It amounts to a little over €100,000. If a bank was to go under, then, in the context of a joint or family bank account, what is the bail-in risk that a joint account would face, as opposed to the account of an individual?