Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

It must be absolutely copper-fastened that this cannot happen. The Taoiseach may feel that this questioning is unwarranted but it is everywhere in the media and it must be nailed. In other words, we must pin down that there can be no unwarranted interference, that the bank will be managed entirely without fear or favouritism, that taxpayers will see the policies applied in writing down loans and that if loans come to be written down, we will see what was done. That information is the protection, as I am sure the Minister would say, both against false accusations against Ministers, who have to protect themselves, and the protection of the taxpayer so our money will not be abused. I do not see that sort of protection in the Bill.

We are told that there will be a relationship agreement, which we have not yet seen. We do not see anywhere in the Bill the proper relationship to the Oireachtas. We do not see it vetting the directors who will be appointed. We do not see it when the Minister is taking the most extraordinary power of being able to sack loan officers in the banks. He is taking that power in the public interest but we do not see his obligation to demonstrate that, when and if he acts under that provision, it is in the public interest and that it will come back to the Oireachtas so that we can scrutinise it as being so.

The Taoiseach made an unfortunate comment when he talked about business as usual in the bank, because what people want is anything but business as it was usually conducted in Anglo-Irish.

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