Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I will go over some of the points I made earlier today. We missed the boat on this affair because the emphasis was on a property bubble when it was in fact a money bubble. Who would have believed that the practices in our banking system could be as they have been shown to be? It is important if we are to re-establish confidence and trust to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. Those who acted incorrectly must be brought to justice.

I mentioned the concept of futurology, and suggested we consider dedicating a Department solely to forward planning. I realise each Department has its own small group that considers forward planning, but we could easily amalgamate some of the Departments and allocate specific responsibility to a Department for macro forward planning. If we did that, and employed people to concentrate on the issue as opposed to dealing with crisis management and fire brigade action, and day-to-day activities, perhaps such a crisis could be foreseen.

When the current regulatory legislation was bundled together and consolidated in 2002, my party's spokesperson on finance at that time, Deputy Richard Bruton, pointed out that he was concerned that the legislation was not stress-tested and had shortcomings. He was proven correct, in that the system aligned to the culture did not work. We will not find out why it did not work until there is a full, frank and open inquiry. I do not know when the scoping inquiry is due to report, but the sooner it comes before the Dáil and we agree terms of reference for a comprehensive inquiry, the better. I hope that it will not be akin to the Moriarty or Flood-Mahon tribunals - those have been going on for well over a decade, which is unacceptable. I call on the Minister and the Taioseach to set a deadline by which the tribunals must report to the House.

We have another shortcoming in this country. The German Parliament held a debate on the allocation of the aid package to Greece. We have had very little discussion on that, other than at Leaders' Questions or Taoiseach's Question Time. I strongly advocate that the Taioseach should attend the House before the European Council meetings when we should debate the issues that are due to come up and the approach that is likely to be taken. That will ensure we get the views of Members in the House and discuss the matter. We in Fine Gael support the bailout of Greece, but certain conditions must be attached to it. We cannot blindly go along doing those things if we do not have an input into them beforehand. The Taioseach mentioned earlier that amendments to the Lisbon treaty might be needed to facilitate the bailout, but I understand that is not correct as Article 122 of the treaty permits the bailout.

The public want to see the results of the banking inquiry and they want those who are culpable to be brought to justice. They want a system in place in which they can have confidence, but that cannot happen until the wrongdoing is addressed. The culture of banking and financial management in this country has to change. The misaligned interests must be realigned. The financial institutions are there to support an economy - they do not exist solely to create profit for the shareholders. While making profit is one aspect, it should not be the sole aspect. The financial institutions' function is to assist with the development of the economy. Ultimately, responsibility for overseeing and managing the economy lies with the Government, not the Central Bank, Financial Regulator or individual banks. It is in this regard that the Government failed miserably.

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