Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay, I will not repeat it. I have said it often enough. I lived through it again on the night of the promissory notes. It was the same all-night saga about legislation that had been drafted six months previously. We are being fed and led by official Ireland not respecting the people who were elected democratically. I accept I am only one of those for the time being. We are being said and led by officialdom and by this committee and that committee. I had a discussion this morning with some committee I never heard of. I was accompanied by Deputy Stephen Donnelly who is not here because he is not well. If he were here I could find out about this committee which is in between the Minister for Finance and these banking people. It is a prestigious committee. The former Taoiseach, John Bruton, whom I respect, is chair of this committee and that gives me some confidence. There are too many of these unelected quangos dictating what happens and what happens in here is irrelevant. We are an irrelevant little irritant sometimes. That is why the banking inquiry has not been held because powerful people do not want it to be held. It must be held but I do not know what committee will deal with it. We should take a leaf out of the book of the public accounts committee over the water and the MP - I cannot think of her name - who put Google over the ropes.

Deputy Murphy referred to the Companies Bill which has been in gestation for 20 years. When it was finally published, I did not get a copy because I was told it was too large to print. It has over 1,400 pages and costs €102 to purchase. Who can afford that or would be interested? As I said when I heard, one could buy ten of Deputy Ross's novels for that. If the Acting Chairman, Deputy Mathews, ever writes one, it will not be that expensive and we will all buy it. Who wants to read 1,400 pages? It is only an effort to convolute and keep people confused.

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