Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

In opening this debate, I outlined in great detail the position with regard to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report. My difficulty is that much of the information in the report is commercially sensitive. Deputy Burton made a good point on whether we can share some information on a confidential basis regarding the exposure of the Irish banking situation. It was suggested that the figure of €10 billion required for capitalisation, which is not a figure at risk, would guarantee the fundamentals of the banks in regard to their capital position. That figure was not arrived at lightly. While there are difficulties in disclosing confidential personal information to Members, I am interested in sharing the broad outlines of the report with the financial spokespersons of the other parties. The question of the security of our system and the reputational value of the system has been damaged by revelations in recent weeks. There is no doubt, as pointed out by Deputy Burton and I made no secret of it in opening the debate, that the position of Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland is fundamentally good. We are not supposed to disagree with market assessments but I do not agree with the market assessment that has been taken of these institutions in light of the information placed at my disposal in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

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