Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Members will manage this as best they can. I will open up the session by dealing with the capitalisation issue, which has been raised by many Members, about which I have a specific question. Will the Minister produce a strategy on the re-capitalisation of Irish banks within a period of two weeks and then return to the House so that Members can discuss it? If the Minister agrees to this proposal, he should include within such a debate a discussion of the rules he plans to apply in respect of dividends being paid by banks covered by the guarantee, his report on the scrutiny of the loan books and their strength, as well as the rules that are being applied by the regulator in dealing with that matter. Such a debate also should include a report on the Irish banks' ability to achieve the higher reserve tier one capitalisation ratios of 9% and 10% that now are becoming common across Europe. In addition, the Minister should give his view of the different options available for re-capitalising banks, either from within their own resources or elsewhere. Will the Minister return to the House within a finite time of two to three weeks to address this issue? Deputy Noonan described it as the elephant in the room and many other Members feel the same way.

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