Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Well, Chairman, I think it's highly unsatisfactory, frankly. And Mr. McCarthy, you know, you might be familiar with the fact that, you know, a journalist in The New York Times, writing in 2005, by coincidence, said something to the effect that Dublin had become known of something of the wild west of European finance. I'm trying to tease out the banking practices that led to this crisis. I'm not getting very far but, you know if ... would it be fair or unfair to push what he says ... what happened to a caricature of the town banker rushing the saloon door to get to the biggest rancher before other bankers get to them. Is ... doesn't it conjure a picture of really frenetic activity among banks to gain and win a major project, or not?