Shane Ross (Independent)

I ask the Leader to invite the appropriate Minister to the House to discuss an issue which arose as a result of a court case yesterday. I am aware the Cathaoirleach does not wish me to mention the specific court case and I do not wish to do so, except to raise the issue around which it revolves, which is banking, non-resident accounts, people not paying the correct amount of tax in that regard and people inducing others not to pay the correct amount of tax. I do not want a debate on that particular case but on why it is that there are so many individuals who are victims of the issue of non-payment of DIRT and so many bankers have got clean away.

Where there are guilty parties and individuals who have done things which were against the law, some of the banks have solved their little problem by paying €30 million in one case and €90 million in the case of AIB using shareholders' money for crimes for which their employees were guilty. There are also very high profile cases where people who were involved have paid an extremely high penalty for things which they were under pressure from their superiors to do.

On the issue of costs, individuals, whether they are guilty or innocent, have to pay millions to try to clear their names or to prove themselves innocent in these areas. Some of them make serious mistakes in taking cases. The banks, however, when forced to defend this practice, do so with other people's money. We are seeing a series of cases where individuals have paid a heavy price for fairly minor offences, while banks hide behind the guise of anonymity and pay no price.