Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom an deis seo a thógaint labhairt ar an cheist rí-thábhachtach seo, is é sin an ráiteas a thug an tAire Airgeadais ar 30 Meán Fómhair maidir leis an córas baincéireachta agus an gcruachás ina bhfuilimid faoi láthair. Ba chóir go labharfadh gach Teachta amach ar an cheist seo agus go leagfadh sé nó sí amach an seasamh atá aige nó aici, in ionad seasamh an pháirtí. Mar sin, is trua nach bhfuil Teachtaí Fhianna Fáil nó Teachtaí na nGlasach anseo inniu ag labhairt. An cuma atá ar an scéal ná nach mbeidh Teachta eile ag labhairt i mo dhiaidh ar na ráitis seo. Tá sé tábhachtach go dtiocfaidh an tAire Airgeadais os ár gcomhair chomh luath agus is féidir le ceisteanna a fhreagairt ar an ábhar seo, cé go bhfuil go leor ceisteanna eile le freagairt aige maidir leis an gcruachás ina bhfuilimid. Is trua nár cuireadh an Dáíl agus gnó na Dála ina iomlán ar leataobh chun déileáil leis an ábhar seo i suí Dála amháin, thar cúpla lá má ba ghá. Mar atá sé, tá an díospóireacht scartha ón 30 Meán Fómhair go dtí inniu, an 14 Deireadh Fómhair, coicís i ndiaidh don Aire an ráiteas a thabhairt.

Ar aon chaoi, an phríomh gnó gur mhaith liomsa labhairt faoi ná fadhbanna atá againn agus conas is féidir teacht tríothu. Measaim go bhfuil bealach timpeall ar an gcruachás seo, ach is ceist pholaitiúil agus tosaíochta í. Tá an deis againn anois díriú isteach ar chonas ár sochaí a mhúnlú don todhchaí. Faoi láthair, níl an tAire nó an Rialtas ag déileáil le sin. Níl aon mandate acu chun déileáil leis nó níl mandate acu d'aon rud a ndearna siad le dhá bhliain anuas, mar ní sin an seasamh a chuir siad faoi bhráid an phobail nuair a sheas siad sa toghchán i 2007. Bhí i bhfad Éireann níos mó eolas acu faoi a bhí romhainn ag an am ná mar a bhí siad ag ligint orthu ná mar atá siad tar éis a admháil go dtí seo. No matter what way one dresses it up, it is the public who will suffer the consequences of the decisions taken on 30 September 2010 and in the past to give a guarantee to banks that the Government will underwrite everything. No matter what way one dresses it up, it is those with disabilities, who did not benefit during the Celtic Tiger years, and those living in abject and relative poverty who will suffer the most because the Government seems intent on hitting the poorest in our society hardest in order to bail out its friends and colleagues in the banking sectors and the developers who speculated.

I spoke earlier at a Disability Federation of Ireland pre-budget forum at which wheelchair users and other people with disabilities were very fearful of the consequences of the forthcoming budget because they know - they have already felt the consequences - this Government's policy is to make them pay for the its mistakes and that of its banking friends. At the end of the day, it is all about political and economic priorities because the Government is making decisions because it believes that it is more important to give a crutch to the gamblers rather than to ensure that those in our society are protected. It is willing to underwrite the gambler and allow it to reap the benefits of a gamble and go off to reoffend.

All of this is tied to a lack of sovereignty. The decisions that we are now being tied into by the Government will last for many generations to come. The Government is tightening the noose around the neck of the normal working class person. It is wresting our sovereignty away from us and handing it over to other institutions. Part of the agenda that has been pursued for quite a number of years by the Government, in its various formations, has been to privatise public services. We will see that happen lock, stock and barrel as a consequence of its mistakes in the banking sector and development. It is happening more quickly than the Progressive Democrats ever predicted.

It is also getting it in the neck because of the consequences of other EU treaties such as the Maastricht treaty which the Government supported but some of us opposed. It said our economic sovereignty would never be wrested from us, that there was no such thing and that we were scaremongering. It is coming to fruition now. Every economic decision the Government is making has to be examined by somebody outside Ireland over whom we have absolutely no control. That is the consequence of the Maastricht treaty and further integration in the European Union. Far from scaremongering, what we and others said at the time in that and other debates on other treaties has come to fruition.

I will now turn to a different aspect and something which we often forget, namely, that in this debate we need to differentiate between senior managers and policy makers and ground level staff in the banking sector. In the debate on the disastrous banking bailout and the discussions - what little of it has happened on the other side of the House - on the crimes of the bank bosses, very little has been said about the consequences for ground level workers behind the counters in banks up and down the country. It is vital to differentiate between senior management and those people.

People are justifiably angry with the banks but they need to be careful not to take their anger out on people who are workers like themselves. The anger needs to be focused on fats cats, the likes of Seán FitzPatrick and Michael Fingleton. People are correct to focus on them and the Government. A survey conducted by RTE and the Irish Bank Officials Association, IBOA, found that three out of every four bank officials have experienced abuse from the public because they work for a bank. Some 40% had experienced abuse, both inside and outside their workplace on a regular basis. Reported experiences include being spat at, being called "the scum of the earth", threatened with violence and being blamed for the tragic suicide of someone who was drowning in debt. Someone was called a murderer for that reason and that is wrong.

The people at which the anger needs to be focused are those at the top. It is all a little merry-go-round at the top because all one has to do is look at those who made the mistakes. Virtually every one of them has found another job in another bank at the very same level. These are the economic illiterate diverse society. One should have a look at the top layer of the banking sector and those who gave advice to the Minister for Finance on that fateful night because the vast majority of them are still in the same position and still giving bad advice to the Minister and Government.

The current CEO of Anglo Irish Bank was the head of National Australia Bank when it owned National Irish Bank. The current managing director of Allied Irish Banks was the head of its capital division. The CEO of Irish Nationwide was the head of the Bank of Ireland sidekick in the Six Counties, Bank of Ireland, Northern Ireland. The current Bank of Ireland CEO was a senior manager in the bank and was the right hand man to the then CEO, Brian Goggin, in the run-up to this crisis.

One can contrast the cosy rotation of the people at the top level of banking with the fate of the employees at the lower end of the ladder who had no say or role whatsoever in the corrupt practices which were pursued by senior management. They, like the general public, have suffered the consequences of this disaster which was not of their making. Like the rest of the public and many in this House, they are in the dark over the skulduggery at the top. The full extent of the skulduggery needs to be exposed.

Job losses in the banking sector from the beginning of the crisis until August 2010 total more than 6,000. In Bank of Ireland, 1,900 jobs were lost. Allied Irish Banks, which does not use that name any more because it is not conducive to good business and is now referred to as AIB, has cut 1,700 jobs. In First Active and Ulster bank 1,000 jobs have been lost and it is predicted that a further 4,000 jobs will be lost over the next 12 months. Many of those people are in salaries in the region of €19,000 to €21,000. They are not the fat cats but are suffering the consequences of the actions of fat cats. Such bank workers will not get golden handshakes worth millions of euro, which are enjoyed by senior management who are to blame for much of this mess when they are laid off.

It was well put by the general secretary of the IBOA, Larry Broderick, when he said that the front line staff in the industry "are becoming the collateral damage of the reckless and disastrous policies pursued by senior management". The banks are in State hands now and the Minister and senior Cabinet colleagues are now the senior management and are responsible future job losses, something which people need to remember. Are the workers now State employees? Do they have any of the guarantees State employees have?

I want to make sure that the Government understands the consequences of its future actions. AIB, which is in State hands, proposes a fire sale of the First Trust bank which is part of its subsidiary in the Six Counties. It is a short-term partitionist policy which will cost jobs not only in the Six Counties, but in this State. Is that what the Minister wants to stand over?

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