Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

That answer is a mixture of clutching at straws and denial. No matter how the Taoiseach spins this, the IMF has used the same methodology in looking at the banking situation across all of the countries in the developed world and it has come to the conclusion that the Irish bailout will be the most expensive. Clutching at straws by saying that this or that figure is out or was in an earlier draft is neither here nor there.

We have moved from a situation where on 30 September the Taoiseach told us that the guarantee would avoid having to nationalise a bank or having to put money into any bank through a succession of attempts to deal with the banking situation. A recapitalisation plan was announced before Christmas which did not happen. A very short time prior to the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank the Minister was stating that there would not be a nationalisation. Two banks have been recapitalised with €7 billion already and one of those banks now states that it needs an extra €1.5 billion. On top of that, the Taoiseach has stated that the bad debts of the banks must now be all assembled in what is called the national asset management agency. These are anything but national assets. This is "an bord bail out" with a body being set up to assemble all of these bad debts.

Meanwhile, opinion from a range of sources is saying to the Taoiseach that the game is up and the banks in this country will have to be nationalised. People have expressed differing opinions about the way in which the banks are to be nationalised - whether it should be a temporary nationalisation with them being resold at another stage or whether, for example, shares would be put into a trust and protected so that there could be some possibility of recovery down the line.

It seems we are staring at the prospect of the nationalisation of the banks and I am trying to establish whether the Government will nationalise them. Has the Government made a decision on this, or will it be one Government policy today and another in two or three weeks' time, as we have repeatedly found regarding the banks?

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