Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

One would imagine it would be hot off the presses and into the Minister's hands and that he would be very anxious to read it. The Minister is indicating to the House that the scientific basis of this study will put these bankers on a comparison for payments with the top people in the top companies in Ireland. He indicated that these are companies with very large balance sheets with, as I said, very large holes. There are bigger holes in their balance sheets than there are in the national accounts. We are being asked to stay our hands on a perfectly reasonable amendment to cap their salaries at €250,000 by law in this Bill for the duration of the period that these gentlemen avail of the State's hospitality of the guarantee. What could be possibly wrong with that? Is the Minister afraid that some of these guys are going to quit? Is he afraid that some of the people who brought the banks to ruin would walk out and leave because they were no longer getting as much money as they were used to? I am not sure I would be desperately upset if some of these guys took a walk. The only reason we might need to hold on to them is to find out what they were up to in order that we can try to repair the damage. What is the Minister's reason, particularly given that the remarks of the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, seemed to get an enthusiastic reception at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis from the assembled Roundheads in the audience? They seemed to almost want it to be "off with their heads" for the bankers. They were in a real republican mood. If Mr. Michael Foot, who wrote a biography of Cromwell, had been there he would have said this was true inter-island co-operation and admiration from one set of republicans to another republican long deceased but who is regarded in England as a republican hero even if he is regarded in Ireland, and rightly so, as a terrible despot.

I appeal to the Minister to have courage. If he were to accept this amendment, would the rest of his Cabinet collapse because bankers would be restricted to around the same salary as Cabinet members? I think they would learn to live with it and I recommend the amendment.

See this speech in context