Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The motion on today's Order Paper for this evening's Private Members' business is interesting. The so-called "concerns" and "dissatisfaction" of Fianna Fáil, as set out in the motion, in regard to trust between IBRC and this Government can only be described as ironic and somewhat sardonic.

I will stand in this Parliament and on the streets of my constituency any day of the week and say that this Government and the Department of Finance had no role in the sale of Siteserv to Millington. The facts bear this out. No amount of mud slinging can change those facts. I do not say this in defence of the Government or the Department of Finance, but rather to state the facts which are presented to us with regard to the dysfunctional relationships that existed between the Fianna Fáil-led Government and former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, including a culture of turning a blind eye and a widespread disregard of procedures. I do not need to remind anybody that Fianna Fáil pumped €34 billion of taxpayers' money into Anglo Irish Bank, which money we will never get back.

At the point in time when the IBRC board approved the sale of Siteserv there was no requirement on it or its management to consult with the Minister for Finance and so they did not. One might ask why this was the case. It was because the relationship framework put in place by the Fianna Fáil-led Government did not require the management of IBRC to negotiate or report back to Government. It is highly amusing to hear Fianna Fáil lecture this Government and the Department of Finance from across the Chamber when it was Fianna Fáil that was front and centre of a relationship framework that gave free reign to the banks who played a central role in our economic crash. It is Fianna Fáil who gifted the €34 billion of taxpayers' money to Anglo Irish Bank in "the good times" and is now trying to lecture this Government, which has reduced the borrowing requirement of the people of this country by €50 billion over the next decade, including €10 million in cash savings.

Fianna Fáil is the symbol of a culture of brushing under the carpet the considerable and real issues caused by the banks in the name of short term large profits at the cost of our economy, confidence in our political system and most definitely our reputation on the international markets. It is Fianna Fáil's response to the banking crisis that brought this country to the cusp of bankruptcy.

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