Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raised that issue because it is linked into the economic debate.

To return to the Bill, section 1 extends the application of Part III of the Central Bank Act 1971 to building societiwa as well as banks. At present there is only one remaining building society in the State, ICS Building Society. This section will enable the transfer of assets and liabilities pursuant to Part III of the 1971 Act from building societies to banks. Section 2 enables payment to be made out of the Central Fund to an account established by the ESM as the agent on behalf of the euro area member states to receive payments for the purpose of providing financial assistance to Greece. These payments are to be made in an amount equivalent to the income that accrues to the Central Bank of Ireland from the securities market programme portfolio of the Greek government debt. These are the two main sections in the Bill.

I welcome the debate on this issue. We need to be sensible. We need to put forward solutions as well as being critical. We also need to be strongly critical of some of the mad decisions that were made in the past and we need to ensure that such decisions will not be repeated. I hope the Government listens to some of the ideas I put forward in the debate on this Bill.

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