Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The conclusion of the Smithwick tribunal that unidentified members of An Garda Síochána colluded with the Provisional IRA in the murder of RUC officers Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan is truly shocking and sickening. It represents a terrible betrayal of the thousands of members of An Garda Síochána who down through the years made many sacrifices to protect the citizens of this island, North and South, and who worked extremely hard against the actions of the Provisional IRA and other terrorist groups. It betrays that sacrifice in a profound and disgusting way.

I welcome the apology issued by the Tánaiste on behalf of all of us and the State, as well as the apology issued by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan were carrying out their professional duties to protect the citizens of this State in co-operation with An Garda Síochána and they were gunned down savagely in the course of doing their duty. Those who gunned them down should be brought to justice. The report should be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, with every opportunity or prospect of further criminal investigation examined. Those in possession of vital information should provide it, as it is clear such information was not fully provided to the tribunal judge. Statements were issued or sent by the IRA to the tribunal, but I invite Members to read them as they provide a very chilling account of the cold and callous manner in which the murders took place. Information that could have been provided by people in the provisional movement was not given.

The publication of the report vindicates the establishment of the inquiry in the first instance, but it also perhaps highlights the need for the other aspects and dimensions of the Weston Park agreement, particularly the inquiry into the Finucane, Hamill and Nelson killings and other events such as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, to be pursued vigorously by our Government with the British Government. Ultimately, the truth wins out, and this conclusion is important for the families and our overall examination of the difficulties on this island.

Will the Tánaiste facilitate a full debate in this House on the tribunal report? Such a debate might avoid the incredible types of statement we have already witnessed this morning on Newstalk from the leader of the Sinn Féin Party, for example. Incredibly, he stated that the two officers displayed a "laissez-faire" disregard for their own security. He stated:

When you have that type of laissez-faire disregard for their own security, by both An Garda Síochána in relation to these two RUC officers, and more importantly by the RUC officers themselves - here they were at the heart of south Armagh in the middle of a very, very severe conflict at that time, and seemed to think that they were immune from attack by the IRA, and tragically as it turned out for them that wasn't the case.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The central grave finding of the Smithwick tribunal report is that there was collusion within An Garda Síochána and the IRA in the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Robert Buchanan. I am appalled and saddened by this finding, as I know all in this House will be. The Government apologised immediately on the publication of Judge Smithwick’s report, but I wish to place that apology on the record of this House. On behalf of the Government and the people of Ireland, I apologise without reservation to the Breen and Buchanan families for any failings identified in the report on the part of the State or any of its agencies. I am truly sorry for the loss and suffering that both families have endured.

I want to acknowledge the dignified manner in which the Breen and Buchanan families have responded to publication of the report, and I wish to join with them in thanking Judge Peter Smithwick for producing such an open, honest and comprehensive report. Out of respect for the families, we should recall the human dimension of this atrocity. Judge Peter Cory in his report in 2003 described Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan as two outstanding RUC officers. Chief Superintendent Breen was a deeply caring family man, devoted to his wife June and to their two children, Gillian and David. Superintendent Buchanan was known as a man of absolute integrity, as a proud, dedicated and able police officer and as a loving husband of Catherine and caring father of their two children, Heather and William. When they were murdered by the IRA on the Edenappa Road near Jonesborough on 20 March 1989, June and Catherine were each deprived of a loving husband and partner; Gillian, David, Heather and William each lost their father. Nothing can undo that.

More than 3,500 men, women and children died during the Troubles. There is no hierarchy of suffering or grief, but where allegations of collusion by agents of the State were concerned, we have long agreed that the State bears a particular and solemn responsibility. I have stated previously that I do not believe we can address the past constructively unless we are each prepared to ask questions of ourselves and of our own role. I believe we have done that today.

I know that members of An Garda Síochána will view actions as documented in the report as a betrayal of the values they uphold and of the very ethos of the Garda Síochána as the guardians of the peace. They will be thinking today of the sacrifices they and their predecessors made in performing their duty during the Troubles. I think today of the gardaí who gave their lives, were injured or put themselves at risk in doing their duty on behalf of the people during the Troubles.

The depth and quality of cross-Border co-operation today between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána is second to none, and I wish to give both forces credit for that. My colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, will meet his counterpart in the Northern Executive, David Ford, along with the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggott, and the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, shortly to discuss the report. The Oireachtas has been consistent and unflinching in its demand for and pursuit of the truth regarding the allegations of collusion identified by the British and Irish Governments at Weston Park in 2001. The Irish and British Governments then accepted that certain cases from the past gave rise to serious allegations of collusion by the security forces in each of our jurisdictions and remained a source of grave public concern.

The Governments are committed to undertake a thorough investigation of allegations of collusion in the cases of the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, Pat Finucane, Lord Justice and Lady Gibson, Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright.

Arising from the Weston Park Agreement, Mr. Peter Cory, an eminent retired Canadian Supreme Court judge, was asked by the two Governments to investigate and report on the allegations of collusion. In line with Judge Cory’s recommendations to the Government, a tribunal of inquiry was established by the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2005 into the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan. The independent tribunal of inquiry has now concluded its work and Judge Peter Smithwick has submitted his report to this House. While Judge Smithwick does not find direct evidence of collusion in the killings, he concludes, on the balance of probabilities, that collusion did occur involving an unidentified member or members of An Garda Síochána. I again thank Judge Smithwick for his report to the House. I agree that we should make time available to have the report discussed in the House. I will ask the Chief Whip to make the necessary arrangements with the Whips of the Opposition parties.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his comprehensive response. I agree entirely with the sentiments articulated in the statement. I thank him for the clarity of his reply. The Smithwick inquiry has proven to be effective and has come to a conclusion that is both shocking and sickening and is a betrayal of the many members of the Garda Síochána who made such sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and the IRA. The report also illustrates the value of the conclusions of the Weston Park Agreement and the value of such inquiries, long and difficult as they might be, in shining a light on appalling atrocities such as the one under discussion.

It is equally important that the other aspects of the Weston Park Agreement, in particular the Finucane case, are addressed in the same comprehensive manner as employed by the Smithwick tribunal. What is required is an investigation comparable to the terms of reference of the Smithwick tribunal for those other allegations of collusion. There has been significant forestalling in that regard by the British Government. The clarity and importance of the conclusions underline the importance of such exercises in going further than official investigations in terms of bringing the truth to people. That is extremely important. I welcome the Tánaiste’s commitment to a debate because it is extremely important that we avoid language that endeavours to muddy the clarity of what happened. It was a cold-blooded premeditated murder which struck at the heart of those who were upholding the security of our citizens North and South. In essence, that is what we are considering. The fact that collusion was involved is doubly shocking to many citizens and to the vast majority of the members of An Garda Síochána.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I acknowledge and agree with what Deputy Martin said about the importance of the Weston Park Agreement. The 2001 Weston Park Agreement identified a number of cases where there was concern involving serious allegations of collusion by agents of the state - security forces in both jurisdictions. It clearly determined that those cases had to be examined. The particular case we had to examine in this jurisdiction was the murder of Chief Superintendent Breen and Superintendent Buchanan. That is why the Smithwick tribunal was established by a decision of the House in 2005. It has taken a long time. I again thank Judge Smithwick for the work he has done in that regard. It also shows that we need to see completion of all of the work that was committed to at Weston Park. I have already communicated previously to my counterpart in the UK Administration the unanimous wish of this House to see an inquiry into the Pat Finucane case. I have met with Geraldine Finucane and the family and discussed the issue with them. We will continue to pursue the Finucane case. The fact that the Smithwick tribunal has now concluded will, if anything, strengthen our position in relation to that.

There is the wider issue of dealing with the past. In that respect, the Government supports the cross-party discussions which were established in Northern Ireland chaired by Dr. Richard Haass. Dr. Haass has stated his intention to complete his work by the end of the year. I will meet with him next week and we will discuss the progress he has made to date. No doubt, I will discuss with him the outcome of the Smithwick tribunal. Probably by then, depending on when we make the arrangements for the debate in the House, I might well have the benefit of the discussion in the House to inform my discussions with Dr. Haass.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I very much thank the Tánaiste for committing to have a debate on the issue. I also remind him that I have called for some time for a wider debate on the past and on issues pertaining to the North. I look forward to such a debate.

I commend the Government also on fulfilling the commitment made at Weston Park to hold an inquiry into the killing of the two RUC officers. I commend Judge Smithwick and his staff, with whom I co-operated, on their diligence and hard work over eight years to produce the report. I do not need reminders from the Fianna Fáil leader that at the heart of this tribunal are two bereaved families. I have already said clearly that they were brave officers doing their duty, as they saw it, in the same way as the IRA volunteers saw themselves as doing their duty, as they saw it.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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One was legal and the other was illegal.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin has learned nothing.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Please allow me to finish.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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One had a mandate and the other did not.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Was Deputy Adams ever in the IRA?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I remind all Teachtaí-----

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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There is a difference between legality and illegality and having a mandate.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Please, Deputy Byrne.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I remind all Teachtaí that all the main parties came from that period of armed resistance that led to the armed proclamation of a Republic in 1916. Some people have very short memories about their own role and the role of organisations that they might have belonged to in the past.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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A lot of water has flowed under the bridge between then and now, and a lot of bodies.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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What I said on Newstalk, for the record, reflects the Smithwick report. It reflects the statement given to the Smithwick report by the RUC, An Garda Síochána and also by the former IRA volunteers. We can return to the issue at another time. Ní raibh cogadh maith riamh ann - is í sin an fhírinne. Níl síocháin dhona ann - is í sin an fhírinne fosta. Táimid anseo anois le síocháin - buíochas le Dia - agus táimid in áit níos fearr ná mar a bhí.

Some people want to keep fighting the war. Some people who stood idly by and abandoned the people of the North want to keep fighting the war for petty, opportunistic political advantage.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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That is rubbish.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to bring to the attention of the Tánaiste one clear contradiction in the conclusions of the Smithwick report. On the one hand he said – this is a clear unambiguous assertion – that the tribunal has not uncovered direct evidence of collusion. That is clear. He then goes on – I think it is a contradiction on the basis of untested intelligence and circumstantial statements – to accept on the balance of probability that some form of collusion occurred involving an unidentified member or members of the Garda. That brings us all back to Weston Park. What Judge Smithwick defines as collusion is very different in form and scale to that which occurred as a matter of policy between British agencies and their allies and Unionist paramilitaries. Everyone knows the British State was involved in structured administrative and institutionalised collusion and that includes the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The British Government has shown an arrogant disregard for the unanimous all-party Oireachtas motion calling on it to provide vital information about the bomb attacks.

One should remember Fianna Fáil was in government for 60 years but failed to get the British Government to honour its obligations.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Democratically elected.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is important to remember, as the Tánaiste said, that there is no hierarchy of victims and that there are many other families seeking truth and closure.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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There are - the McConvilles.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Government, as a matter of priority, increase its lobbying to mobilise our international and diplomatic resources-----

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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FARC and ETA.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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-----to get the British Government to honour its commitments and establish the promised public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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It is important that we reflect on what is important today. The report has just been published. It is important, in the first instance, that we think of the two families who lost a father and a husband. It is important that we think of those in the then RUC, now the PSNI, who lost colleagues. We should think also of the trauma that I have no doubt the report will cause among members of An Garda Síochána. We can be very proud in this country of the integrity, courage and service of An Garda Síochána. It will be very troubling for its members, as it is for me and other Members of this House, to find out from an official report that there was collusion between some individual members of the force and the IRA that led to the murder of two men in very savage circumstances. I cannot get out of my mind the image of one of those men who, when injured outside his car and waving his white handkerchief, was shot in the head by an IRA activist. That is what we are dealing with.

This is not a day for self-justification by anybody or any political party. It is not a day for muddying the waters, pulling the report apart or finding a flaw in it, nor is it a day for the writing or rewriting of history. Cibé sórt cogadh a bhí ann, ba coimhlint suarach, seitreach a bhí ann agus tá áthas orm go bhfuil deireadh leis. An gnó ba cheart a bheith idir lámha againn sa Teach seo ná féachaint ar aghaidh chuig an síochán agus na laethanta amach romhainn. We must reflect on this very serious report and consider what we need to do regarding the unfinished business at Weston Park. I want every Member to be assured the Government will continue to make every effort to ensure the Weston Park process and the agreements signed up to at Weston Park will be completed and fully complied with. If anything, the reports we now have will afford an opportunity to achieve this.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with everything the Tánaiste said. I remind him that the Weston Park agreement was signed in 2001. Therefore, for 12 years the British Government has been in breach of the agreement it made. Let us be very clear that what happened to the two officers who were killed was horrible and horrific. As I said as Gaeilge, there is no such thing as a good war. What happened in Kilmichael and on the streets of the city was the same. What happened in creating this Parliament was the same.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Was what happened in Enniskillen the same?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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There is no way one can just draw a line and say there was a good Old IRA back in the day throwing powder puffs at the British and also that there is an IRA which has departed the stage and which behaved in a more cruel way.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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There was also a legitimate parliament in both states.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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This is the Man from Del Monte - jeepers creepers.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Given that there were parliaments in the North and the South, it had no mandate.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Gerry Adams has the floor. This is Leaders’ Questions.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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With all due deference, of all the people who could get up and rant at me, Teachta Eric Byrne is not one.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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You might bet your life I am.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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If we are to get into recriminations, let us consider what happened at Aldershot and Ranger Best and the killing of Larry White and Seamus Costello. This is the narrative we get into when there is not a serious effort made to understand I am articulating a viewpoint – one might disagree with me and believe I am absolutely wrong – that is entirely legitimate. I co-operated with the Smithwick inquiry. I used whatever influence I had to ensure there was an unprecedented attendance in terms of former IRA volunteers speaking to the tribunal and the justice on more than one occasion. Why was that? Was it to score some cheap point against Fianna Fáil? No, it was not. It is because the war is over; it is done and dusted and now we have to build the peace. Building the peace means trying to bring closure to families, including the Breen and Buchanan families. It also means ensuring the past does not become an obstacle for the future. The key is that we proceed in as therapeutic a way as possible. Of course, there are hard questions to be answered and people need to step up to the plate in dealing with all of these matters. I very much look forward to the debate and hope it will eventually be carried out in a rational way, as I requested of the Taoiseach a few weeks ago.

I want to ask the Tánaiste about a matter about which we have spoken many times. Sinn Féin has been proposing that an international agency be brought in to facilitate a truth and recovery process that is victim centred and examines all of these matters. The Government clearly could not set it up, nor could the British Government, republicans or Unionists. Will the Government at least explore the possibility, as opposed to allowing for the drip-feed trauma created every time there is an inquiry, inquest or tribunal? We should deal with all of this as best we can by bringing in an independent international dimension. We would not be where we are in the peace process – Richard Haass is an international diplomat - if we had not brought in the international community to help us. Here is another case that is crying out for such an approach. Clearly, we would not be in the peace process we are in had we relied on successive Governments, including that led by the party to my left.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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It is important that we return again to the core of this question. A report has just been published, following an inquiry that was undertaken for eight years. It is a very extensive report and goes through a significant amount of evidence. It comments on that evidence and concludes that there was collusion between some members of An Garda Síochána and the IRA that led to the killing of two police officers on their way back from a meeting in Dundalk. By any standard, that is a serious matter, at a number of levels. It was obviously serious for the individuals who lost their lives, but it is also serious for our police service, the police service of a democratic state. It is serious that, for whatever reason or motivation, consequent to certain persuasion or perhaps pressure, some officers of An Garda Síochána colluded with the IRA to kill two police officers from Northern Ireland who were returning from a meeting in a Garda station in Dundalk. That is an issue we must address as a democratic state. I hope we will do so when we debate it more fully in the House. We must also address it because of the impact it will have on an Garda Síochána. As I said, it is an outstanding force that does a great job and its members will be traumatised.

They will think, today, of the sacrifices that so many members of the Garda Síochána have made. There are times when we can debate and discuss episodes in the history of this island, in the context of the issue of equivalence, to which Deputy Adams referred. However, to be honest, I do not think today is the day to do that. I do not think Deputy Adams does himself, his party or, with the greatest of respect, the peace process any service today by----

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste is doing the same thing himself, with his narrative.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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----saying what he has said.

Regarding the proposal from Sinn Féin for dealing with the past, a process is now under way, under Dr. Haass, and we should all participate in that.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We are participating.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I have discussed this directly with Deputy Adams in meetings I have had with him in his capacity as leader of Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin should engage fully with the process-----

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We are engaging fully.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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-----as I know it is doing.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Fully.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Yes, I know it is engaging fully in the Haass process. This Government will also engage with it. We need to deal with the past, comprehensively. We should see the Haass process through. A number of proposals have been put forward as to how to deal with the past and we should all engage conclusively with that. The most important point is that while we have to deal with the past, we should not lose sight of what we are about here, which is building a better future for all of the people on this island, North and South. We must deal with the very difficult legacy of the past and enable victims, in particular, to do so. When we talk about victim-centred processes, we must not forget that the people who are at the centre of the issue we are discussing now are the Breen and Buchanan families, who suffered such a grave loss. We should have a process that is victim-centred and hope that, arising from the Haass process and the cross-party talks that are now taking place, that we will be able to emerge with that.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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Today Bank of Ireland announced a plan to return €1.8 billion to the State. This is welcome and I hope that the Tánaiste and his Government put the money to good use. However, as we get ready to take this money back, we must be cognisant of where some of it has come from. Some of it has come from citizens whose lives have been ruined by the behaviour of Bank of Ireland. Of the banks that have appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Bank of Ireland is unique in refusing to offer 0% interest on the portion of a mortgage in distress that is shelved. It is the only bank that has refused to do that. At a meeting of the finance committee in September of this year, I went through the so-called restructures that Bank of Ireland was offering with its chief executive. We went through 90% of them and he agreed, on the record, that in all of those cases, the borrowers would end up paying more money back to Bank of Ireland. This was true in at least 90% of cases, although I believe it is true of close to 100% of cases. For borrowers and families whose problem is too much debt, the Bank of Ireland solution is for those individuals and families to pay more money than they would have had they not got into difficulty.

When I speak to practitioners who are working very hard every day to try to help families and individuals to restructure their mortgages, I often ask them if there is any bank that is doing everything it can not to act according to the spirit of the what the Government has asked for. I hear the same response every time - Bank of Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Ireland. Families all over Ireland with unsustainable debts are in a banking lottery. Those who were unfortunate enough to do business with and to trust Bank of Ireland during the bubble are being squeezed harder than those who did business with other banks.

The Irish people made a lot of money available to Bank of Ireland and €1.8 billion of that was to deal specifically with residential mortgages. When Bank of Ireland representatives appeared before the aforementioned Oireachtas committee, their figures showed that they had made a provision for half of this amount on residential mortgages. In other words, they took the €1.8 billion because they acknowledged that they would not get back about half of the money they were owed from distressed mortgages. Rather than act as the Government has asked, Bank of Ireland's explicitly stated policy is that it will not engage in any debt write-downs. Practitioners are telling me that Bank of Ireland drags its heels at every opportunity.

Does the Tánaiste believe it is acceptable for Bank of Ireland to be acting in this way? If he does not believe it is acceptable, what tangible measures can his Government take to stop it?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Minister for Finance, on behalf of the State, has concluded negotiations on the sale and redemption of preference shares in Bank of Ireland. This transaction will see the State recouping a premium on the initial €1.837 billion investment. A press release was issued this morning to mark the start of the sale process. The sale and redemption processes are currently under way and the exact return to the State will depend on the outcome of the two separate capital market book-build exercises that form part of these processes. As the process is currently under way, I am limited in what I can say at present. However, I am sure that when the process is concluded, the Minister for Finance will come to the House and update Members fully.

The process involves the sale of €1.3 billion of the preference shares to private investors and the redemption of €537 million of the preference shares, which will be financed by the bank through the placing of new equity. The successful conclusion of this transaction will see the State exiting its €1.837 billion preference shares held in Bank of Ireland at a profit, build further confidence in Ireland's recovery and strengthen our return to normal market funding. I acknowledge the welcome that Deputy Donnelly has given to that process.

Regarding the ongoing engagement between banks and individual borrowers and families with mortgage difficulties who are seeking a way out, the Central Bank has set targets for each of the banks to conclude agreements with those in mortgage distress. We have put a range of measures in place, including new legislation providing for the personal insolvency service and non-judicial debt settlement arrangements. We have also made it very clear to all of the banks that we want to see a conclusion brought to the mortgage distress and debt difficulties that many families are in. That must be done, as I have said repeatedly, on a case by case basis. We continue to engage with the banks, through the Central Bank, on what they are doing. We will continue to have that engagement with them because we want to see families lifted out from beneath the burden of debt. That is a process that we want to see accelerated. We want to see all of the banks engaged in it. No individual bank should be holding back or taking an approach which is less than one of full engagement.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. The targets, while well-meant, are being gamed by all of the banks. We know from the finance committee hearings in September that the way they have met the targets is by issuing tens of thousands of legal letters offering to evict people from their homes. The Central Bank has colluded in this by accepting that a threatening legal letter counts as a genuine offer of long-term restructuring of a mortgage.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent)
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Shame.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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I welcome the Tánaiste's statement that no bank should be seen to be holding back. The reality is that one bank, at least, is - namely, Bank of Ireland.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent)
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Shame again.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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It is not acting irrationally because it is the job of the board and its executives to make the bank as much money as possible. A bank makes money by taking money in from people, giving them as low a rate of interest as possible on their deposits, lending it out while charging as high an interest rate as possible and then squeezing and squeezing as much as necessary to get that money back. That is the banking model.

I do not blame Bank of Ireland for acting the way it is. I wish it would act like the other banks, including the commercial banks, but the reality is that it is not. The bank’s executive team took a clear line, which is on the record of the finance committee, when it said it was not engaging in debt write-down. The practitioners on the street are saying it is dragging its heels. I welcome the Tánaiste's statement that no bank should be allowed to do this. However, we have a bank that is dragging its heels and publicly stating it will do other than the Government’s stated intention, which is debt write-down, as stated by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, during the debate on the insolvency legislation last year.

What is the Government going to do about this? There is solid evidence that Bank of Ireland is dragging its heels. This has a knock-on effect on families who have loans with the bank, who are being squeezed. What can the Government tangibly do about this in the coming weeks and months?

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent)
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What are the public interest directors doing?

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Sleeping at the wheel.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Deputy Donnelly used two phrases that registered with me. First, he described banks as acting rationally, and second, he said that this is the banking model. I disagree with him in this respect. I believe that was the banking model. That was the approach one would have expected from banks acting rationally. As he knows, and as we all do, when the banks were acting rationally in that way, they found themselves in a position in which they ended up having to come to the State for assistance.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent)
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They were not acting rationally.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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We are in a situation, therefore, in which the banks, largely because of the commitment made to them and the fact that they were bailed out by the State using taxpayers’ money, have a community responsibility, a social responsibility - call it what one will. I believe that responsibility is in large part measured - Deputy Donnelly gave some of the figures earlier - by the amounts provided for the banks to resolve mortgage distress. They should get on and do that.

We have set targets through the Central Bank for the banks to deal with distressed mortgage holders. Deputy Donnelly asked how this will be complied with. We have engagement at government level through the Minister for Finance and his Department, on some occasions through the Economic Management Council, and the Central Bank will continue that engagement with the banks until we see the mortgage distress problem resolved.

There is also the degree of public accountability that is exercised through the Oireachtas finance committee. I commend the committee on its decision to bring the banks' representatives before it to ensure their public accountability. This is not just a matter that can be dealt with and discussed behind closed doors. This is a matter of public interest in which public moneys have been committed to the banks. It is only right and proper that they appear regularly before the finance committee to account publicly for what they are doing.