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

Deputy Durkan wants to come in but I have to answer. I am impressed by the numbers of people employed by the bank. They are making an investment in the country for themselves. They come first. What would I say to all the banks that came before us that literally robbed their customers in the course of the tracker mortgage issue? What would I say to the banks that came before us and which literally closed businesses and dealt with them in an appalling way?

What would I say to banks, some of whose customers committed suicide because of the way they were treated by them? I praise them where praise is necessary, but where it is fitting to point out their faults and failings and the disgraceful way they treat their customers, I will do so. The unions representing the bank's employees appeared before the committee. They told us they knew nothing of what was going on in the bank; they were not even involved in it. The Minister is a majority shareholder in two banks and a minority shareholder in another. I am not afraid to praise banks. I am not afraid to deal with banks. I have dealt with them all my life. However, their culture leaves much to be desired. If that were not the case and if I were absolutely wrong in this, there would have been no need to appoint the culture board which is also a useless operation because it is all funded by the banks.

I have a job to do here and I will hold banks to account for the sake of their employees and their customers. The Government could do a hell of a lot more in holding banks to account. The Minister could do a hell of a lot more with his majority shareholding in the banks on behalf of the people. I share that view with the Minister now.