Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I wish to make a brief point before the Minister responds. I would not be completely opposed to giving discretion to the Minister, if I thought this threat was realistic. I refer to a scenario that was of such urgency that the Minister could not come back before the House for approval. However, our banks have been in trouble for a very long time and even under this recapitalisation proposal, they will not draw down the money until after their own extraordinary general meetings. They will not abandon procedures for their shareholders or if they so intend, Members should be informed that in these extraordinary times, the banks will set aside the interests of shareholders while dealing with the survival of their institutions. However, the Minister is asking the shareholders of Ireland Incorporated to set aside the interests of the shareholders, who Members represent, to push through this emergency measure.

I do not see how the circumstances the Minister envisages could be so time sensitive or such matters of life and death that the Government could not make an announcement to the effect that it intends to invest in X, Y or Z bank and that the Minister will go before the House in the normal way with an item of legislation to get its sanction to use the pensions reserve fund. In the normal course of events, the Government has a majority in the Dáil and in such circumstances, in which an emergency had arisen, it would be likely to have some support from the Opposition or at least an understanding. Consequently, I am unsure whether the case has been made.

If I thought the banks were going to their convocations or whatever they have — the Bank of Ireland has some highly elaborate old statutes — to state they were abandoning their procedures and that in the event of them being obliged to seek more Government recapitalisation, there would be no EGM and their shareholders would wake up one morning to find this has happened because of an emergency, in other words, if there was a quid pro quo, I then might agree that Members of the Dáil must recognise that these were extraordinary emergencies and that they must suspend their disbelief. However, I have not heard such a case being made and the normal procedure, whereby the Government gets the approval of the House for spending taxpayers' money, should continue to apply.

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