John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. If I go into a licensed premises and drink after hours, I will be in court and fined for breach of the licensing laws. If I go into a shop and steal a pair of socks, I probably will be in court the following Tuesday. I have the newspapers in front of me and can give the witnesses a sample of the headlines about the banks: "Tracker Scandal Litany of Shame", and "Why Nobody Will Stand Up to Our Bullying Banks". That is what the people think about this.

What steps can the Central Bank or the ECB take to ensure that some form of restriction or sanction is put on the banks for failing to do things honestly? Has Mr. Sibley looked at it from that perspective? The banks were dishonest in what they did. They stole money from people which they have not repaid. Whether they did it before or after 2013, they still stole the money and have not given it back. I would not consider it to be a moral or legal issue. I would consider that they did wrong and should give it back. Is that the way the Central Bank would look at it?