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

In Mr. Byrne's opening statement he set out the argument for the increased costs in the area of interest rates and the regulatory requirements which are designed to make sure we do not have another bust, including the need to be well capitalised. He spoke about security and stated:

If that security is undermined, the costs to all other borrowers are impacted. Defaulting customers, and indeed the history of defaults, mean that we as a bank must hold additional capital

I do not want the witnesses to forget they caused this, though this is not mentioned in the opening statement.

If the reckless trading in the banks at that time had not happened - I know the witnesses were not in their current roles at that stage - we and many others in the country would not be in our current position. The bank, legislators and society in general must be continuously reminded that we all fell asleep and during that time the country was wrecked. It should be included as an indicator that the banks carry a burden of responsibility in this regard.