Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

The Taoiseach answered neither of my questions. What happened between last Wednesday, when the new programme for Government promised that the bondholders would take a hit, and yesterday, when the Minister of Finance said we were no longer pursuing this issue? I ask the Taoiseach to answer that when he comes to his final reply. At what stage is it unsustainable, as we have been warned by the Minister for Finance, to continue to increase this burden on the Irish people?

The Taoiseach said the situation was unfair. He might agree, then, with the argument put forward by some people drawing a parallel between the Famine and what is happening today. I would not wish to compare the trauma of the Famine with today, but at that time, fresh produce was going abroad to pay landlords while our people starved and now billions are going into European banks while half a million people are languishing on the dole.

The Taoiseach mentioned an inquiry into the banking disaster. I ask him to be specific about this, along with the two earlier parts of my question, in his reply. Will representatives of the Irish people be provided with a structure to find out the inside story of the orgy of profiteering in property and banking? We need to know who was involved, the profits that were made, the deals that were done and where the money is now. Will people be compelled to provide information and every book possible opened to get to the truth?

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