Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

We should have accountability from these people. With regard to Oireachtas oversight, I echo the comments of Deputy O'Donnell that the Minister of Finance should come before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service sooner than in six months' time.

As other Deputies have stated, this is phase one. Phase two must be the recapitalisation of the banks and mergers where necessary. When the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, came before the House and made the initial proposal for the guarantee, he told us the banks' assets exceeded their liabilities by €80 billion. Now we know this is based on the balance sheet at the end of last year. It remains unclear whether the assets of the banks exceed the liabilities by €80 billion. The markets do not believe so and think it is significantly lower.

The European Central Bank has lent €69 billion to banks operating in Ireland. Admittedly only a fraction of this has gone to the covered institutions but it is a large amount of money. I understand the loans from the ECB take preference over the taxpayers' guarantee and I would like to know more about this. Fine Gael will support the measure but we remain dissatisfied about a large number of aspects and about the words of the Minister on the assets and the commercial charge for the guarantee on which he seems to have reneged.

See this speech in context