John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Now what we have is a Central Bank that did not do what it should have done when it first heard this complaint. We had a Central Bank – by way of reference to what Mr. Kissane just said – that expected the banks to do the right thing. These are the same banks that caused this problem in the first place. Are we to expect that they have gone from sinners to sainthood and they are going to be helpful? My issue with the position on the Central Bank is that it stood by when all of this was going on. I do not accept that a new Governor or new person in a job cannot be blamed chastised or interrogated on the basis of what is happening in the Central Bank. It is not about the person; it is about the Governor of the bank. It is about what the Governor is doing and what he is empowered to do. In my estimation it is no defence of the Central Bank to say someone new is in place. In my estimation, as I said the last day, the Central Bank is afraid of the banks.

The unions were before the committee earlier. Their representatives were telling us that their employees are afraid to deal with some of the issues in the bank. I realise that is not why you are here today, Mr. Kissane. However, I simply want to clarify this. My position on the Central Bank is that I was struck by the fact that on the day the Governor came before the committee, he gave us the wrong figures. We could not add up the figures that were being presented to us. That is the kernel of the issue. I admire the work Mr. Kissane does and his presentation today has been significant. Bearing in mind what he said about the Central Bank, he has said that if there was an inquiry, he would stand up and say that he was prepared to tell the whole truth. However, he could not rely on the same thing happening from the banks. That is what he said earlier.