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

People would like to see an inquiry into the banks and to see the main players in the crisis brought into a public arena and questioned. From that point of view, I welcome the idea that this House be involved in attempting to do that. That is part of what we are here for and what democracy is. It involves opening issues of public concern to public scrutiny, for questions to be asked from all points of view and for the public to make its judgment. There is, however, an insoluble problem, and it is the reason for the defeat of the Oireachtas inquiry referendum: such a committee is not capable of making findings of fact. Anybody who knows what the Oireachtas committees are like knows that is the case. How the hell can a political committee made up of different political perspectives, with all the inevitable political manoeuvring and competition that goes on at these committees, seriously come to a finding of fact on the banking crisis when we know that there will be different perspectives, judgments and so on? I am not even sure it is possible to have what one could meaningfully describe as an objective, definitive analysis of the banking crisis. What the Government could do is put the main players up in front of the public, ask them all the questions that people can think of from all the different perspectives and let the public make its judgment. The proceedings can be summarised in a report which people can study and analyse but the Government cannot come up with a definitive position on it.

I understand why Fianna Fáil is set against the inquiry. It is afraid that it will be a chance to bash Fianna Fáil.

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