Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The whole question of quality of management in regard to the banks is something that will have to be examined in the implementation of this legislation. Checks on remuneration approaches, which reward short-term performance and excessive risk-taking, must be installed in financial institutions. As I said a few moments ago, the State is going in deep here. We are entitled to insist beyond the regulatory system on compliance by these credit institutions with certain basics. One essential, which I know is of great concern to many of my colleagues on the European Council of Finance Ministers, are the excessive remuneration approaches which reward short-term performance and excessive risk-taking. We will have to insist that those practices are stamped out in these credit institutions.

There is the need for a return to traditional banking values in all our credit institutions. This was mentioned by Deputy Olivia Mitchell in the course of the debate. There is the need to ensure responsible and prudent lending practices in respect of consumer lending, and comment was made by some Deputies in the course of the debate that we have very irresponsible consumer lending. In fact, our consumer lending, as a proportion of our personal lending, is low by international standards and lower than the United Kingdom equivalent. The bulk of our personal borrowing and saving tends to be in connection with the acquisition of property.

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