Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The banks take on that liability and are paying into it at the moment. Some 3.3% is the allocation key that our banking system pays into the fund. The loan facility amount, which is a temporary arrangement until the fund has been fully mutualised, is calculated in the same way.

Deputy Paul Murphy is right. This is about greater certainty. There is less certainty if a decision is left to the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas approving this power for the Minister now means that we will be able to protect the banking system should we ever get to the stage where we are calling for this backstop between now and 2024, which is unlikely but not impossible. This is about protecting depositors and people's access to finance. One can imagine situations in which one is not able to convene the Oireachtas in the necessary time to get approval, should the Minister be minded to give that approval. For whatever reason, people have been discussing the uncertain political climate in Ireland for the past two days. There was quite an amount of uncertainty after the recent election as to when the next election would be.

We are committed to the SRF because it is the best way of protecting taxpayers from banking problems. This loan facility agreement is an important backstop, but it is only a temporary measure until the European Stability Mechanism, ESM, is in place. We want to send the signal now that we are going to provide this loan facility if it meets the approval of the Minister. That is the national oversight that we have opted for and that other countries have not.