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

I apologise that I was not available for the start of the meeting.

Apropos of the previous discussion on procurement, we must recognise that in an emergency we need to have an emergency procurement process. Whether it has operated effectively or efficiently remains to be seen, but it needs to be in existence. Inevitably, emergencies occur and in an emergency it is not possible to go through a two-month or three-month tendering process. In fact, it could be found that the procurers were negligent if they put people's lives at risk and the public would not tolerate it. I would, however, like to know a little bit more about the extent to which emergency procedures are available and what covers the procurers in the process in that event.

On the banking system, particular challenges arise now. I am not certain that they will be resolved easily. At a time one bank is withdrawing completely from the market, another bank is closing down more than 100 of its counter services. This is a big challenge and a disadvantage to many people who are dependent on the banking system. We need to make sure that we have something to offer. I will come back to some comments I have made in the past at our meetings. I am not so sure that we have any influence at all as a committee, and I believe that we should. Our views should be taken into account but they are not. They were not taken into account when it was decided to close one banking establishment altogether. We were told after the event, the same as the employees. I do not believe this is good practice, especially in the aftermath of the bailout of the banking system, some by this jurisdiction and some by other jurisdictions.

The fact remains that either the finance committee or an appropriate committee has a function and a valid commentary in these situations or it has not. If we have not, that is fine. We may have to deal with it in another way. Likewise, with regard to the Bank of Ireland, the employees were not warned beforehand and the appropriate committee was not warned beforehand, as far as I am aware. We did not know anything about this. The decision is taken arbitrarily. I believe we must examine the basis on which these arbitrary decisions are taken.

The banks will say it is on the basis of the need to look after the shareholders and so forth. We have to raise a red flag and say that while we are not shareholders, we represent shareholders and constituents alike, and some constituents may be shareholders. It is important that some type of good established practice be put in place to ensure we do not continue swimming in the dark, as it were.