Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy was concerned about the position of the guarantee and the issues were supplemented by very generous and extensive briefings by my officials on this matter. When the matter was drawn to my attention in January, I took a decision to recommend to my colleagues that we should nationalise this institution, which I believe was the correct decision. Deputy Gilmore cannot point to a cent of taxpayers' money that has been wasted as a result of the decisions I have taken in this whole matter. His party characterised the guarantee as a generous one. The taxpayer has received money for the guarantee.

The Labour Party decided not to support the guarantee so that Deputy Gilmore can quietly go around the country saying that the Government is bailing out the banks and not worrying about anything else.

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