Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I move amendment No. a1a:

In page 3, before section 2, to insert the following new section:

"2.—Any funding to any financial institution to which funds are paid out of the National Pension Reserve Fund under this Act in excess of a cumulative total of €7 Billion shall not be made save pursuant to a resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas.".

The purpose of this amendment is that, in respect of any financial institution to which funds are paid out of the National Pensions Reserve Fund under this Bill in excess of a cumulative total of €7 billion, no additional money over that €7 billion will be given to the institutions unless the proposal to give them extra funding over the €7 billion comes back to the floor of the Dáil where there will be an opportunity to debate it in the House.

This is rushed legislation which is giving excessive powers to the Minister to give €7 billion today to Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland. We agree in principle that those banks must be recapitalised but as I suggested in discussions on earlier parts of the Bill, it is possible that the €7 billion is inadequate and there is a power in the Bill whereby if the amounts prove to be inadequate, the Minister might not have to come back to the House to debate that. This Minister may be willing to indicate that he will come back to the House but there is no actual requirement to do that. We are moving this amendment to ensure that if this Minister or a future Minister seeks to put more funds into these banks from the National Pensions Reserve Fund or otherwise, they will be obliged to return to the Dáil and debate it in the Dáil. The banks are getting a great deal of money and because this legislation is being rushed through the House, we are concerned that the powers being granted to the Minister in this respect are excessive.

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