Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

No, I want to quantify for the ordinary person looking at the sheer scale of the money the Minister is putting into the banks. In terms of the real economy, business credit has dried up. If the Minister wants practical solutions, while we disagree on policy we believe the banks should have worked out their own loans and that the taxpayer should have been the last to pay. In fact, the taxpayer is the first to pay.

The Minister has held some renegotiations with subordinated debt holders through the various institutions but we will now have a situation whereby some mutually beneficial discussions will take place with senior bond holders. To date, the taxpayer has put well in excess of €30 billion into the banks which will climb to €48 billion. The international markets are now looking for certainty in terms of the four year plan the Minister is introducing. In terms of dealing with the situation at hand, how is the Minister going to get a growth strategy going whereby we can service that level of debt regardless of who is in Government?

Yesterday the Taoiseach quoted a figure of €30 billion for Anglo Irish Bank, 5% of which is €1.5 billion per year.

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