Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The wider economic issues are ones the Government is busily dealing with during the week, in the context of social partnership and decisions it will take. We are using the time available prior to the return of the House next week to make sure we can finalise our arrangements in that regard.

While we all have views on these matters, there is adequate time to debate in this House and to legislate on this Bill for the purposes of bringing certainty to the policy that was announced. Wider issues of policy, in economic, budgetary and wider banking policy issues can be dealt with on an ongoing basis beyond this issue.

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