Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Government remains fully accountable to the Oireachtas on all matters of policy. Deputy Burton made the criticism that wrong practices which may have occurred in the banks or regulatory system since September 2008 will not be investigated. I want to make it clear that such wrongdoing was a continuation of previous practices and can as such be investigated in the preliminary inquiry.

Deputy Noonan asked whether the inquiries will investigate the response of Departments and State agencies. The Government's amendment to the motion clearly states that the preliminary reports should consider the international social and macro-economic environment which provides the context for the recent crisis in the banking sector.

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