Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas as ucht an deis labhairt ar an rún seo. Since the crash, we have heard many times that the Government seeks to break the link between the sovereign and the bank and that link needs to be separated fully. Here we are, almost in 2016, and the final pieces of this process are coming together, but what we have is something that is watered down beyond recognition. There is still a risk between the banking system and the sovereigns. This period of eight years of mutualisation, which the Germans sought and got, will allow this risk to continue into the future.

In addition, many organisations around Europe have argued that the fund being set up is too small to deal with the potential size of a banking crash and the procedures put in place do not go far enough to safeguard citizens from reckless bankers. My colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, raised with the Minister at committee the fact we are not convinced there is a full understanding of how new entrants or legal changes to existing banks, such as the change we saw in Ulster Bank recently, are going to be dealt with under these new rules. It seems there is a major gap and Frankfurt will decide in the future.

The crucial failure, and this is very important, is that none of these new procedures that are being put in place throughout Europe after years of the EU stumbling and lunging around will do anything for Ireland's banking legacy debt. That is one of the biggest issues at the heart of society and the economy at the moment. The towel was thrown in on the Anglo-Irish Bank debt in February 2013 and that toxic debt has been placed on the shoulders of citizens of my generation and of the next generation. Even their children will probably be paying for the mistakes of the Government on that toxic debt. At the same time, some of the speculators involved in that are on course to benefit to the tune of hundreds of millions of euro on that toxic debt.

The other chunk of debt, the pillar bank debt, was subject to the great game changer, the seismic shift. We were told that Ireland would be able to apply retrospectively for recapitalisation. Some of us called it correctly at the time. We said the Government was over-egging what was in fact a vague commitment. Here we are in 2015, approaching 2016, and they still have not bothered drawing up the rules on how a country can retrospectively recapitalise and how that system can work. That is quite shocking. We had the Taoiseach coming back to the State, like Neville Chamberlain, nearly saying "peace in our time" and that we had resolved this recapitalisation. Now we are being told by the same Government that it is not even in our interest to apply for that money back. Defeat is dressed up as victory. When it comes to our banking debt, the Government has failed significantly twice and has called it victory both times. It was unambiguously Frankfurt's way all the time.

While Sinn Féin does not oppose this motion, as it is a technical one, I want to put on the record our party's distrust over the increasing powers being handed over to the ECB. The undemocratic nature of that organisation has become increasingly clear. It is entirely unaccountable to the national parliaments and to the citizens of the European Union, yet it increasingly oversees whole chunks of our economy. My understanding is that even at the highest level of Europe there is little clarity as to the extent of the ECB's powers and that it will be decided case by case basis exactly what its competencies will be. This is a very large issue at the heart of this process with regard to the ability of this State to determine its economic future. I appeal to the Minister to stand up to Europe on it.

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