Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully understand the frustration of my colleagues concerning this issue. The firm intent of the Government is to make sure the new banking model that will be operated in this country will be sustainable and responsive to the needs of the economy. That is clear. The taxpayer has put enormous funds into the banks and it is crucially important that they are the engines of growth in the economy. That requires significant cultural change in the model which virtually collapsed the country.

It would be wrong of anyone to describe this as the Minister's position. It is the Government's position, as is well known and clear, following the publication of the Mercer report. We expect to receive from the covered institutions by the end of April very clear plans for how they will reduce their cost base by somewhere between 6% and 10%. It will be a matter for the banks to bring forward these plans in a circumstance where significant de-leveraging has already occurred within the banking system following the announcement we made in March 2011 on entering government.

It is appropriate that the greater reductions in salary would be at the top rather than the bottom, but we will wait and see what the banks will produce by the end of April. Government policy, endorsed by all members of the Government, is that each of the institutions must produce a plan by the end of April. The key task that we face is to return the banking system to profitability. We are determined to do this to ensure we get our money back as taxpayers.

While I understand the deep frustration of colleagues an know this to be the majority view in the country, we have also negotiated as part of our EU Presidency the CRD IV directive which is vitally important because it places significant limits on the entire bankers' bonus and pay culture that was at the rotten heart of the European banking system for the past decade or so. That is a significant achievement of the Government and our Presidency. The banks will operate under the directive when they return to profitability.

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