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

We have to be perfectly clear about this before we leave the meeting. I chaired the committee for the entirety of the previous Dáil. We discussed vulture funds and their activities throughout the country at length. We discussed community banking and the issues around the pillar banks and other banks, issued some final reports and had the report on vulture funds debated in the House.

When I look back, I find nothing much has changed. In fact, the situation has got worse. If we leave here without doing something definitive, it will show that we are just a talking shop that does not take real action. It is time for the Government to acknowledge that we had two specialists before us who told us the banking inquiry was a whitewash and waste of time, a point of view to which I subscribe. Mr. Jonathan Sugarman came before the committee and opened our eyes about a whistleblower in the banks. That issue is still unresolved. The Central Bank is making a choice to turn its back on his actions.

Since then, vulture funds have run roughshod over the country. They have stolen from the people we are here to represent and the people have had little or no representation in the courts because they are almost as bad as the vulture funds when it comes down it. We have no real understanding of where banking is going. A political intervention is required.

The forum is a medium to long-term proposition politically. We need action. Writing to Ulster Bank after the witnesses' contribution today is one action the committee can take. We can write to the Central Bank and NatWest, regardless of what the Minister is doing. We should express not just our deep concern but also our anger about the fact that they have not come before us and insist that they do so. Whether they sit and listen to what we have to say or are willing to contribute is entirely up to them. They should be invited in the strongest possible terms. Likewise, the Minister for Finance should be informed of our actions and what we are doing.

There is a mechanism for debate in the Dáil Chamber. If the committee is of a mind to draw up a short report to bring to the Dáil Chamber for debate on this issue, perhaps that is something we should consider. Members can take from what was said here, take it to the floor of the Dáil and publicly challenge the banks, the Minister and the Government to respond to what I believe is a crisis in banking. There is no doubt but that there is a crisis in banking. This involves 1,500 jobs in AIB, the possibility of further actions in Bank of Ireland-----