Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

All they have offered is a lie to the public about our efforts to stabilise the Irish banking system, with all its faults and flaws. Despite all of those who have wronged the financial system, who have, in my view, committed fraud within the financial system, that does not remove the duty upon Government to sustain a financial system in this country that can keep the economic situation flowing. When we recapitalised the banks and had to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank, we did so not as a favour to any banker or anybody involved in banking. It was about stabilising the financial system. It was about protecting all of the small depositors in this country. It was protecting major deposits in the bank.

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