Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I was struck by two headlines in this week's newspapers. The first concerned a banker whose organisation was one of the six banks in negotiations with the Government on its historic guarantee. He bought 1 million shares for what he described as unknown reasons. These shares increased in value but nothing was done about it. On the same day another headline stated the number brought before the courts by the very banks which had sought to repossess their houses had increased to a level we had not seen in years. Although these headlines contrast starkly with each other, they are the reality. A banker whom the Government decided to bail out using our money was able to use this information to buy something which he knew would increase in value and nothing happens.

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