Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

They remain on lending committees. Why is this the case given the huge stake the Irish taxpayer has taken in these banks? Such people have been shown the door everywhere else. I am not suggesting these people are personally responsible but what happened on their watch and they should be replaced. When can we expect the Director of Corporate Affairs to report on his inquiry into the banks? When will the Garda send a file arising out of their investigations to the DPP? It was announced in January 2009 that the Garda Commissioner was sending in members of the fraud squad to Anglo Irish Bank. While that is not quite two years ago, it is close enough. The only thing I have heard on the matter since was the dawn raid on Seán FitzPatrick's house in Greystones in the week before the Minister introduced the National Asset Management Agency legislation in the House. That action appeared to be more about providing Vaseline to ease the progress of the Bill through the House than making a serious attempt to investigate what was taking place.

These are the questions people are asking. On the night after the raid in Greystones, the Garda Commissioner stated on television that a file was being prepared to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Given that business is being done reasonably quickly everywhere else, it is fair to ask when the Garda file will be sent to the DPP.

While many countries are experiencing a banking crisis, most have taken action and moved on and those guilty of malpractice have been made answerable to the law. The United States is a good example because the authorities, having rolled in at the close of the markets at 4 p.m. on Friday, worked day and night on the following Saturday and Sunday and had put in place a solution before the markets reopened at 8 a.m. the following Monday. This occurred right across the investment banks of New York. They made a mistake, however, in allowing Lehman Brothers to fail.

I need answers to the questions I have put. I hope the Minister will be able to provide strong assurances, without quibble, because while the Fine Gael Party agrees the extension is necessary for the reasons I have outlined, we are disposed to vote against the motion, particularly given that I cannot press my amendment.

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