Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

The Government is scaremongering about the professional investors. Many of the professional investors in Anglo Irish Bank will have insurance, unlike the taxpayer who must foot the bill.

To put into context exactly how the Government thinks, and its priorities, it is prepared to put €22 billion into a black hole in Anglo Irish Bank. It is like putting petrol into a car where the engine has seized — no matter how much petrol one puts in, it will never go. Then last night, when the Government lobby was full with Members seeking special needs assistants, they voted against a measure that would cost a small amount of money.

I hope that when the Minister comes in here he will shed light on a number of questions. I hope he will publish the evidence on putting money into Anglo Irish Bank and that he will tell us of his discussions with the European Commission because when he came in here on Tuesday last we were under the misapprehension that €8.3 billion had yet to go into Anglo Irish Bank. That money had already gone into the banks since 21 January. The European Commission states that of the €10 billion be put in, the most it will look at is €2 billion. It has serious concerns and I want to know exactly what discussions the Minister had with it prior to coming before the Dáil on Tuesday.

I want to see the advice and evidence given on the guarantee scheme to the Minister and the Taoiseach on the night of 29 September 2008. Was it in the main from the bankers? Did everyone rely on the bankers? What exactly was the basis of the discussions?

I also want to know about the routine flow of credit. Will the Minister put the credit reviewer on a statutory footing with immediate effect?

What discounts will apply in respect of the further tranches to come into NAMA and how much does the Minister envisage the taxpayer being required to put in, additional to the €3.5 billion, to AIB? What percentage shareholding does he expect to take in AIB?

The flow of funds appear to be going one way, from the taxpayer directly into the banks. Many in Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society will never lend, yet we appear to have no flow of credit to the SME and the personal credit sectors. The Central Bank stated yesterday that private sector credit fell by €1.3 billion in February and it had fallen by €3.7 billion the previous month. It appears to be going one way.

This is a black day for the taxpayer — I do not know which is worse——

See this speech in context