Banking inquiries, which were conducted in the US and the United Kingdom, were obstructed here. A secret investigation was commenced behind closed doors. Perhaps it was his messianic zeal to become more Fianna Fáil then Fianna Fáil itself that caused the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to claim that investigation would be open but if anybody in this House has come across this open inquiry, I ask him or her to tell us. Huge questions remain unanswered, such as who advised the blanket guarantee which directly resulted in bond spreads climbing towards 9%. Merrill Lynch did not advise such a guarantee and the Department of Finance claims it did not do so either. It is one of the great questions of our time, alongside the meaning of life and whether there is a God.

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