Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

As I indicated, I intend to bring the report before the Government and that is the reason the report is being treated as confidential. This is the normal practice with reports which are brought before the Government. I do not know if there is very much I can add to this discussion because the core point is that this House agreed last October to a method of determination of senior executive pay in all six covered institutions and not just the particular institutions that are the subject matter of this Bill. I have made it clear to the House that this committee has taken into account, not alone the mandate given to it by this House, but also the fact of the guarantee and the capitalisation. On that basis the committee has recommended definite caps on executive pay which will set a guideline for all executive pay within financial institutions. That is the situation. It is useful to use these amendments as a peg for providing this discussion, but that is the position and decisions will be taken on foot of that.

With regard to the query about payments that were made to particular institutions in relation to severance, that is a matter for them. However, with regard to Anglo Irish Bank I can tell the House that, of course the board of the bank, now under public ownership, can obtain legal advice in respect of any such payments.

With regard to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis, I would not like Deputy Burton to be left with the impression that this was some form of mutual admiration society between the Minister and Oliver Cromwell. My understanding of what Deputy Dempsey said is that the bankers had visited indignities on the Irish nation similar to those that had been visited on it by Oliver Cromwell.

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