Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Let us be fair. People are entitled to information and I will give as much as possible, but we also have to be fair to each other, make sure we get this right and take into account all the issues concerned. If the EU says that we need to avoid the distortion in the capital flows which it believes could possibly emerge or that we should deal with other banking institutions in the country in what it would claim to be a non-discriminatory manner, we are working through those issues with some of the parties in this country who may have an interest but who may not subsequently apply. Danske-Northern Ireland Bank has indicated that the Danish guarantee for Danske bank is sufficient as far as it is concerned. It will get on with its business and is probably unlikely to apply under our bank guarantee scheme. People are taking different views depending on the situations that arise. Denmark gave its guarantee in recent days.

Issues are arising and it is not a static situation in which we go off, deal with the matter and bring it back here quickly. We need to make sure that we take account of what is a moving situation. What happened this morning across the water was a very significant initiative and we have to make sure our people consider the implications of that and advise the Government accordingly. These are important points.

Of course it is important that we progress this as quickly as practicable. It is not my intention to foster uncertainty. We are clear in our objectives and we have stated them clearly. Arising from the debate in this House, a request was made for modifications and expansion of the scheme in certain respects. We are considering that and are speaking with the people concerned and the Europeans, who have views on the matter. We want to ensure that whatever we do will withstand rigorous scrutiny from any source so that this matter is sorted the way we want it sorted. I do not suggest for a moment that this decision on its own addresses the entire situation — of course it does not — but it provides for the immediate stabilisation and access to liquidity that we need to proceed in a way that is not regarded by others as hostile. That is what we are trying to achieve and the initial reaction of the markets has been helpful. We brought in the legislation last week and we had a very expansive debate on it. As Deputy Gilmore suggested, to accommodate debate we delayed our deliberations after concluding Second Stage and spent an entire day on Committee Stage. We did all that, we then sent the Bill to the Seanad, which did its work.

We are now in the process of dealing with this detailed scheme. We outlined during the course of the discussions on the legislation what in essence we are trying to put in place. We are now discussing the detail of that, based on continuing advice from the Central Bank, the Financial Regulator and the Department of Finance, taking into account the developments taking place in other countries and what the European Union institutions have to say about it. Let us be fair, honest and straight about this. We are proceeding cautiously, prudently, I hope, and comprehensively so that we can come to this House with confirmation that what is put to the House will cover the questions Members are entitled to ask, such as where this stands in regard to European Union arrangements and what view the Directorate General for Competition takes. We need to make sure we can answer these questions and the only way we can do so is through an ongoing consultative process, which is taking place and which cannot be turned around overnight or in a matter of hours when dealing with these institutions. That is the position. We should accept that we will be able to come here with fewer questions to answer on the basis we have covered all the angles and bases.

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