Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Well, as I said, when the question of the guarantee came to me first of all in the morning, my response was you needed, you know, a functioning banking system as the lifeblood of the economy and the guarantee that was ... that was being put up by the Government at the time, we needed to know the conditions of that. Obviously, Fine Gael took a view here that we would support the banking guarantee for that reason - that the economy and business and trade is where you need to be - and obviously the issue was argued in the Dáil. I remember the question that Deputy Noonan asked in respect of liquidity ... liquidity or solvency. We supported the business so that we'd be able to ... that banks would be able to open the following morning, that there were three substantial buffers totalling €80 billion that would be called upon before there would be any exposure to the taxpayer - that was, shareholders' funds, ECB funds and a future levy on the banks similar to the insurance levy, which, in the words of the Taoiseach in the Dáil, he said would pay for the difference through a levy over time, rather than expecting the taxpayer to do so. Obviously, the situation has changed now following the discussions with Europe. And, secondly, that the Government would return within three days with details of the new regulatory scheme that would govern the banks in the post-guarantee world. We also sought, from our point of view, through Mr. Bruton, amendments and assurances in relation to the ... that the regulatory system would be improved substantially, that there would be more detail on the powers granted to the Minister under the Act and how we plan to use them to create an improved regulatory situation, that the guarantee would cover deposits and bonds and not other obligations that were introduced into the Dáil debate, that there would be restrictions on payment of dividends and on bonuses, that there would be improved oversight - with three people appointed, nominated by the public accounts committee - that there would be representation by the Government on the boards of the banks covered by the guarantee, that there would be codes of practice for risk committees and that there would be ... the importance of continuing to keep credit flowing into the economy. So they were the reasons we took the view that you needed a banking system that functioned, therefore, you needed to-----