Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I wish to record, on behalf of the Sinn Féin Deputies, our support of the Labour Party motion and our opposition to what I can only describe as the despicable cop-out of the amendment presented by Government. The inquiry we seek needs to examine and expose in full how the banking sector played a central role in bringing the Irish economy to its knees. It must call to account Government Ministers and the so-called regulators who, instead of doing their duty, maintained a cosy relationship with the banks and, of course, the third element - the top bankers themselves across all institutions.

The Irish public has already poured €7 billion in recapitalisation payments into Anglo Irish Bank, AIB and Bank of Ireland; more than €50 billion will be spent on NAMA; and billions more will be required for future recapitalisation. Yet the public still do not know exactly how or why this situation came about. We should make no mistake about it: the figures I have cited, the true extent of which have yet to be exposed, are only part of the picture. The real cost for individuals and families, for whole communities and sectors of our society, is not reflected in those figures. Cutbacks, pay cuts and the 2010 budget, to name but three, are consequences of these failures - failure of Government, failure of regulation, and failure to oversee a banking sector in which business should have been conducted to the highest standards to engender the confidence of the people.

That is why the inquiry should be concerned predominantly with the failure of regulation and the role that Government played, as well as the conduct of the top management at the banks. The role of external auditors must also be examined. The inquiry must be public. We recommend an all-party joint Oireachtas committee with outside experts brought in to help with the investigation as required. The bulk of the work should be done in public; that is what the people have a right to and deserve.

Why do I place both Government and the regulatory authorities over the bank executives? I do so because I have been a Member of this House for 13 years and I have seen the failure of this Government, in a previous manifestation, to accept the recommendations contained in the report of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service published in 2005. I participated directly in these deliberations, and the recommendations, if the then Government had the wherewithal and the commitment to effect real change, would have had an undoubted effect with regard to the conduct of the banking sector. There would have been protection for whistleblowers and an increase in the maximum fine for transgressions from €5 million to €50 million. We would have seen the continuation of the bank levy and the financial regulator would have ensured that low-income groups had access to borrowing that was equal to those more favoured in Irish society. Much work was put into that report, with the participation of representatives of all parties. It angers me greatly that the Government failed absolutely to grasp the nettle of the disgraceful, repeated ill conduct and bad management of the banks at the time and the subsequent failure of the so-called regulation that the Government put in place.

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