Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about three matters. I refer to a debate on the continuing banking crisis, in particular, the Taoiseach's confirmation that he anticipates a further €8 billion going into Anglo Irish Bank. Earlier this week I asked the Taoiseach whether the Government would provide, between now and the recess, time for a debate on the position regarding the banks, particularly those such as Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide which are such an enormous cost to the Irish taxpayer.

In regard to the banking reports by Messrs. Regling and Watson and by the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Honohan, which are now with the Government for two days, will the Taoiseach clarify the timetable? The net point is that the terms of reference of the scoping reports do not refer to this and excludes the period of, for example, the first capital injections into AIB and Bank of Ireland and the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank. What is the timeframe? Can the Taoiseach confirm when these reports will be released? What good reason is there for not releasing these reports this week so that the Opposition parties, in particular, would have an opportunity to study them and the Dáil could come up with terms of reference that would allow all the events involved in the banking crisis, including the vast sums of money going into Anglo Irish Bank, the night of the guarantee and its aftermath to be discussed?

Can we have a specific debate on Anglo Irish Bank? Will the Taoiseach elaborate on when, exactly, the banking reports will be published and whether there will be an opportunity to discuss the scope of the terms of reference of the banking inquiry?

There are two other related matters about which I wish to ask the Taoiseach. I am sure the Taoiseach and everybody else is aware that arising from the construction and property crash there are very many sub-contractors around the country who have been left bankrupt, in some cases as a consequence of not being paid for jobs they had completed. These are mostly the small and medium sized people in the construction industry who, if they had not had this bust in regard to debts owed to them by bigger developers and contractors, would be able to pick themselves up and motor on and stay viable, albeit with some difficulty.

A Private Members' Bill has been presented to the Seanad that tries to make tight arrangements to ensure that subcontractors get some payment and are not left, as is happening at the moment, holding the baby for the bigger developers who blew the house on the boom. The entrepreneur Seán Gallagher from "Dragons' Den" is on the public record as saying that he has spoken with both the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Deputy O'Keeffe, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Lenihan, about legislation to improve-----

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