James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

There is no bank resolution in this deal. There is no bottom line. There is more money for Ireland to borrow to throw at the banks. Where is the bank resolution? Where is the final place of rest for this problem? The people have been asked to shoulder more and more debt without any sight of an end, other than platitudes from a Government and the Minister. For the past two years, he has told us we will make money out of this, that it will be the cheapest bank rescue ever, that it will cost only €4 billion, that it will cost €16 billion, that it might cost €30 billion, and that it now stands at €50 billion. Where does it end? We have our sovereign debt and we must honour that.

I put it to the Minister that we have created a moral hazard. We have created a situation in which investors have lost all their money and borrowers find themselves in negative equity but those who engaged in reckless lending and who lent to them, both here and abroad, walk away scot-free, carry none of the burden and share none of the hurt. This is acceptable neither to me nor to the ordinary people, who had no hand, act or part in this mess, which was presided over by the Government through lack of regulation. These are the facts. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, may wish to nod, shake his head or spin as much as he wishes but that will not change the facts.

See this speech in context