Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

That is no reflection on the Minister of State, but he does not have discretion on behalf of the Government to offer changes in any of the details of this scheme. We are having a meaningless debate because whatever the Opposition says, the Minister of State does not have the discretion to alter anything. There is no point in having those sort of debates. From the outset, the banking crisis has been handled by the Minister for Finance. It has been core to his brief. The Minister for Finance ought to be here to deal with a matter of such seriousness. I appreciate that he is preparing the budget. Everyone is trying to prepare for the budget as best they can, but this is a time-restricted debate. Only 50 minutes have been set aside for it, but we expected the Minister for Finance to be here. It is discourteous to the House, and to those who put an effort into coming up with suggestions for amendments, to find that the Minister does not feel it warrants his attendance.

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