Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Most people in the country are in a state of shock at what we heard on Thursday about the eventual cost of bailing out the banks - coming in at €50 billion - and all of the implications of that for public finances, taxation, State borrowing and the cost of borrowing. During the month of September, RTE ran two documentaries, entitled, "Freefall", which dealt in particular with the bank guarantee and what led up to it. In the course of those documentaries, it was reported that on 29 September 2008, the top people in Anglo Irish Bank went to Bank of Ireland and told the top people there that Anglo Irish Bank was facing insolvency and might not be able to open its doors the following morning. They asked Bank of Ireland to take over Anglo Irish Bank, but Bank of Ireland refused to take it over. However, it appears Bank of Ireland shared that information with Allied Irish Banks and that both of them then went to the Government to discuss the impending crisis. Arising from those discussions, the Government made the decision to go ahead with the blanket guarantee of the six banking institutions, including Anglo Irish Bank. When he and the Minister for Finance were making that decision, did the Taoiseach know that Anglo Irish Bank was facing insolvency?

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