Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

If I ever had the chance to be in the Minister's position, I would commit to open the inquiry. Although these measures have been fully debated, there have been honest different opinions as to which strategy was best, whether we made mistakes and whether the information provided to the Minister was adequate for him to make informed decisions. We need to investigate that if we are to learn how to prevent a recurrence in the long term. We must know that the response mechanisms were adequate.

Does the Minister agree, for example, with the Government's fateful decision to include subordinated bondholders in the guarantee? That deserves to be investigated because there is much honest difference of opinion in that respect. The Minister may have been right in his decision but do we not need to know if these decisions were correct, well-founded and based on evidence of the time? Is the evidence presented to the Minister to influence his decision not important to consider as part of the learning exercise?

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