Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The ... but the guarantee in its major purpose, which was to get deposits to flow back into the Irish banks and stop a run on the banks, did not succeed in that purpose, Deputy. So the guarantee was a disaster for the Irish people because, in effect, what happened with the guarantee was the Irish taxpayer took sole responsibility for the debts of the banks when, in fact, in my view, the effort to save the banks should have been concentrated on the high street banks, the banks with which ordinary business, commercial, depositor life in Ireland is dependent.