David Norris (Independent)

I support Senator Hayes's comments about AIB. I do not think it is acceptable to describe what happened as an error or a mistake. It seems to have been known to those at a certain level within the bank for a considerable period of time and is one of a catalogue of accidents in which AIB has been involved. I refer to the scandal in the United States in which large sums of money were lost and the insurance collapse which led to the Irish taxpayer having to bail out the bank. Questions have to be asked about the bank and the confidence people can have in it.

When I listened to the news on RTE this morning, I was disturbed to hear about the case of a gentleman who telephoned the station to relate the details of what happened when he transferred large sums of sterling to Irish currency. He asked on several occasions what rate he would be given, but he was not told and he was defrauded of £1,500. I was disturbed when the man spoke of having asked for the tape of his telephone conversation with the bank. He was given the tape immediately and was able to listen to his conversation. I wonder how many people with accounts with the main banking groups are aware that their telephone conversations with their bank managers are recorded. I was not aware that it is the case. Is it a standard, uniform practice?

I have raised on a number of occasions the fact that I am aware, as is Amnesty International, of a consistent practice by the US Government, through its Central Intelligence Agency, of exporting prisoners to Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan for the purposes of interrogation under torture in the presence of CIA operatives. I can give the Leader the names of the prisoners in question and other details. I would like the Minister to ask the US ambassador to explain why such practices are continuing, especially as President Bush claims to be unaware of what is happening. I heard someone say on the radio this morning that "this is not the American way", to which I would reply "yes, it is". It is not true to say that it involves just a rogue group of people. Torture is a covert practice of the US Government and it is time for this knowledge to be forced into the open.