Mr. David McWilliams:

The Deputy has really mixed things up. I will tell him how. He is talking about the difference between a panic in a financial market and a period of calm. The whole point of a temporary guarantee is to make sure that everything is calmed right down by doing what has to be done, because the banks are going to go to wall, for no other reason than the fact that people will take their money out. That is the first thing.

The second thing is that during the period of calm when the liquidity issue has been addressed the Government must establish what is in the best interests of the State. Is it in the best interest of this State to pay out into perpetuity every single creditor of insolvent banks or is it in the best interests of this State to do what I said, which is to introduce a temporary guarantee and then move against the creditors?