Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

-----and it was all the fault of poor Joan; it was all Joan's fault because Sinn Féin voted for it on the night. That is not credible at all, for God's sake, Deputy. What kind of rubbish is that?

I will not refer to Deputy Kelleher because we know Deputy Kelleher's speeches and they are all very entertaining. I thank Deputy Mick Wallace for a very reflective contribution. There is much in what he says and I always listen to him. As for Deputy Boyd Barrett, I cannot pass the same compliment to him. He dances around the edge of the great European crisis like a kid at a bonfire, cheering for more flames and looking for more burning but he does not really contribute to any solutions in the debate. Deputy Ross is always very direct in what he says but he is economical with the truth on occasions because when he deplores that cabal who were in the Department of Finance on the infamous night, I ask who was there such as Seán FitzPatrick or Michael Fingleton? I recall reading Deputy Ross's piece back in 2004 when he presented the Anglo Irish Bank business model as the prototype model that should be followed by all banks in Ireland and when he deplored the ineptitude of the Bank of Ireland when it did not follow the model of Seán FitzPatrick and really get profits for its shareholders. Has he forgotten all this? As we rewrite history, let us refer to all the facts and to all the things in the past and then move forward. We voted for the guarantee on the night. We thought it was the right thing to do because we were given assurances by the Minister.

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