Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

We are not in government and cannot invoke the instruments that would burn the senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank. We are arguing that the Minister should at least empower the Houses of the Oireachtas, through this Bill, to take those measures. The Minister is attempting to enshrine in legislation debt for equity swaps and burning subordinate bondholders, gamblers who gambled in banks which, apart from being propped up by the State, are toxic and insolvent. The same should happen to gamblers who are called senior bondholders. That is the elephant in the room. We can waste as much time as we want discussing this. It is wrong that this legislation is being forced through the Houses of the Oireachtas in such a short period. The Minister cannot continually refer to the powers transferred to him under this Bill without dealing with the big issue, namely, that we cannot allow senior bondholders to be paid by the Irish taxpayer.

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