Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It would be a far greater liability because the level of deposits in the bank are up to €64 billion. One must understand what the alternatives are in these situations. If the suggestion is, as some people have it, that we should let everyone swing and let the bank go that would leave the State open to a possible exposure of up to €60 billion. That is the situation and we could not contemplate that because that would all crystallise on the basis of such a decision.

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