Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The country will be not be immune from the €300 million in recapitalisations in other European Union countries. Trillions of euros are being placed under guarantee simply because the international financial system practically collapsed. Capital had been wiped out and we need to put the banking system back into place. At 5 p.m., the Minister for Finance will come into the House to outline in a comprehensive way how we can achieve that objective and rebuild a banking system that is fit for purpose.

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