Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

We put our finger in the dyke and we stopped the disorderly collapse of Anglo Irish Bank in 2008. We held the line to support European financial stability in the midst of our own financial chaos. Does the Minister of State not feel we have earned the right to have a timely response to this issue in regard to whether the ECB will extend, write down or introduce some element of delay to the payments? This is an important issue that affects both sides of the House and it is necessary that this message is got through to the ECB and our colleagues in Europe.

Has the concept of winding down Anglo Irish Bank been considered? It has no deposits in the normal sense. It is a zombie bank, with little or no effect on the wider economy. If it had been signalled well in advance that Anglo Irish Bank would be wound down faster than currently envisaged, it would not have had any effect on the market.

There is a need for people in this country and for Members of this House to know what the European Central Bank is thinking. A delegation from the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform travelled to Germany recently-----

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