Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

On the specific matters he asked about, I heard in comments this morning that the Cabinet had made some decision to ensure people were not pursued in respect of any liabilities they may have. Nothing could be further from the truth; the Cabinet made no such decision and it is not our business to make such a decision. We have nationalised a bank, which is now in the ownership of the people, so it can pursue, to the greatest extent it possibly can, all liability and debts due to it. That was the purpose of nationalising it.

If it were the case that we had not nationalised the bank and if the loss of market confidence was such that it could not maintain its deposits and it went into default, the taxpayer would have had to pick up the tab.

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