Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

We cannot do without banks, whether people recognise it or not. When Opposition Deputies contribute to this debate, they should admit that a banking system is necessary for our trading and commerce industries. They should acknowledge that the plan the Government introduced has been copied by many of our European partners, some of which were sceptical when we proposed to introduce it in the first instance. When other countries found they had the exact same problems as Ireland, they copied the Irish scheme. That is a testament to the virtue of the action the Government was seen to take. While we have heard many criticisms from Fine Gael and the Labour Party, we have never heard the representatives of those parties proposing any solutions. I am aware of an independent economist who has said that Fine Gael's plans would involve further borrowings of €400 million. Deputy Richard Bruton, who——

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