Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to ask the Minister some questions in respect of the Labour Party amendment No. 1. Although the Minister explained his thinking on section 53, I am not convinced that this section does not give the Minister extraordinary powers that are outside the scope of the Constitution and I refer specifically to Article 15 of the Constitution. When the Minister spoke before the adjournment of this debate at 7 p.m., he created what in some ways was a very elegant construction that he as Minister had certain powers of direction and so on that he exercised and that having done this with consultation and so on, he then could go to the High Court, which could make a judgment. However, it appeared as though his approach was to make a construct that suggested the courts would have the say in this matter when, in fact, the powers he is taking are extraordinary. It appears as though he had created something of a castle in the air to devise a structure that would maximise the power of the Minister vis-À-vis Article 15 of the Constitution.

As for section 53, he described and read out its two parts. I had read them out previously and the Labour Party has no difficulty with the first part, which provides a recognition that much legislation provides for the repeal or amendment of existing legislation. This often is a function of legislation. However, our concerns are with the second part, namely, the powers the Minister will acquire under section 53 are so sweeping and draconian that they are outside the ambit of the Constitution. As I said, our Constitution recognises the law-making function of the Houses of the Oireachtas and specifically the Dáil. If we are to resign that function and hand it over to the Minister it would be an enormous diminution of parliamentary power.

On the IMF and European Union deal, Commissioner Rehn, whom almost all Opposition parties met during his visit to Dublin, in addition to setting out his thoughts on the likely level of the deficit also talked about the reform programme under the Lisbon agenda. The reform programme requires the consultation of not just member Governments but the Parliament, Opposition, civil society and other interested parties.

The Minister has still not answered Deputy Rabbitte's question. We have consistently called for bank resolution legislation since the time of the guarantee because it is a feature of American legislation, in particular. I and others gave the example of Washington Mutual. It was restructured and the bondholders took a part in the restructuring.

The Bill is very complex. I do not know whether the people in the Minister's office have been working on it for the past two years, perhaps they have been working at it every night. Perhaps the Attorney General has been working on it every night for the past two years. On the second last day of the Dáil session before it goes into recess for Christmas and the new year the Minister has introduced a highly complex Bill comprising 66 pages, 77 sections and several Schedules.

The Minister wants the Opposition to have it passed in under 24 hours. What Commissioner Rehn said in Dublin envisaged a very strong debate on the need for reform which involves not simply the Government - with which as Commissioner he obviously has the primary connection - but also the Opposition and civil society.

No academic lawyer in any of our universities, as far as I am aware, has had an opportunity to even cast a reflective thought on the Bill. The Labour Party has had members and lawyers talking to us about how they understand various sections. Yet, the main object of the Bill is to provide €10 billion to AIB - the Minister did not demur when I suggested it and perhaps he could enlighten us - before the end of the year or Christmas. He is exercising extraordinary powers in doing this.

People talk in Irish society and a lot of columnists write intensively on aspects of it. Fintan O'Toole recently wrote a book on reform. The fundamental reform required in terms of the Dáil is that its Members have an opportunity to scrutinise and examine legislation. People in civil society or those with specialised legal knowledge should be able to contribute.

With due respect, there was nothing in the Minister's response to our concerns. He has made up his mind, he has been the judge and jury and in future he will have an extraordinary collection of powers. The banking crisis is crippling the country. As a country and citizens we are allied to the banks' debt. Without a doubt, we have a difficulty with the gap between spending and taxation, in terms of the ordinary fiscal deficit. Were that this the country's only problem, with a couple of difficult enough years and agreements on wage freezes and so on, we could deal with it without any difficulty. What is crippling the country and its borrowing rate is the weight of the bank debt.

The section in the Bill which relates to Anglo Irish Bank is extraordinary. It refers to involving the bank in some kind of reorganisation, revival and recapitalisation. I understand it is section 12. It is extraordinary. Can the Minister explain to the ordinary people in Ireland why the Bill refers to the recovery, reorganisation and recapitalisation of Anglo Irish Bank?

Most of us here thought we had this debate. Is the Minister expecting, with his extraordinary powers, to arrange for the ghost of Hamlet's father to appear in the Chamber to scare the living daylights out of every man, woman and child in the country? That seems to be what he has in mind. It is almost impossible in this context to read the section containing the description of the proposals in the Bill in respect of the reorganisation, recapitalisation and revival of Anglo Irish Bank.

The Minister is taking extraordinary powers. Is it to create a Lazarus out of Anglo Irish Bank in order that it lives to see another day? Is there a technical reason, in terms of the agreement with the IMF and the European Union, which requires the smelling salts for this bank for a period and which he has not shared with us? I invite the Minister to share a little information with the Deputies of this House about his exact his intentions. Is €10 billion for AIB to be provided by 31 December? Will the ghost of Hamlet's father appear on the battlements of Leinster House and walk again? Is this the future the Minister has in mind for Anglo Irish Bank?

I ask the Minister to spell out the situation because he has taken extraordinary powers. Deputy Rabbitte said earlier that, in a way, this is something to facilitate the Minister between now and the general election. The requirement in the IMF deal the Minister signed is to publish real bank restructuring and reform legislation by the end of February.

Can the Minister tell us exactly what he is doing and why he will not accept the Labour Party amendment? It proposes a reasonable restriction on the Minister's power in order that he exercises them as ordinary Ministers exercise them in the context of full respect for the Constitution? The Minister referred to getting the advice of the Attorney General who said the Bill was constitutional. However, as a Minister he is carrying a very heavy stick.

Even though only four hours of debate on this Bill are permitted, we deserve more explanation from the Minister on the concept of the Bill, what it is expected to do and what the description of what is to happen to Anglo Irish Bank is meant to mean. The Minister is providing for extraordinary powers in that regard. When the deal was reached with the IMF, we were told we had €10 billion with €25 billion in reserve. It now appears that €10 billion will go into Allied Irish Banks by the end of the year. Last Saturday, the chairman and public interest director of Anglo Irish Bank suggested in an interview, which was carried by the international media, that the reserves are likely to be used up by further requirements. Can the Minister tell us where it is at the moment? Why should the Dáil vote to give him these extraordinary powers?

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