Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

Does the Tánaiste not agree that we could take a leaf out of the Icelandic people's book in holding a referendum on our bank bailout? Icelandic voters were allowed to have their say and that gave their Government a stronger hand in negotiations on how to deal with their banking crisis. The demand of the people, expressed in two referenda, that the bondholders should pay some of the cost offers lessons to us. Does the Tánaiste agree that one lesson from the situation following those referenda is that the sky did not fall on the heads of the people of Iceland? Negotiations continue and the country is probably in a stronger position as a result of the people being allowed to express their view in a referendum. Perhaps we should consider doing the same.

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