Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should complete an interim report or some other report so it is available as a reference. I know the time for that is short, but it could be helpful.

I refer to the reluctance of the Central Bank or any banking entity to come before the committee to hear what it has to say. In the not-too-distant past, there was a period during which one could only describe what went on as reckless trading. That is a serious offence in the financial services area. Raiders came into Ireland from outside of the country and proceeded to undermine the Irish banking system through the medium of alleged competition. That created a vacuum in the banking system that was not filled by anybody. It created huge inflationary problems. They then generally walked away and escaped from the country. That happened in financial services, banking and insurance. There is no reason in the wide earthly world why we should have to tolerate that.