Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State very much for his words but to conclude, there are many reasons not to do something. Real leadership is having the courage to do things. I would like to see the State ultimately entering the financial services world. I do not trust any of the banks, whether we are shareholders in them or not, and I am a former employee of one of them. I do not trust any of our insurance companies either because, as I said here some weeks ago, their business is cold profitability being delivered through dividends for their shareholders. We work for the people and not for the financial services industry. In that regard, we should be prepared to look at the establishment of a State bank and a State insurance company and the provision of a broad range of financial services to our people. We can then have an element of control of consumer price rather than one that is based exclusively on cold profitability. I ask both Ministers to please consider this point.

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