Shane Ross (Independent)

Let us not say this was a great job done overnight. It was a last resort. What has been done is phenomenal in terms of figures. We have given guarantees of €400 billion to €500 billion. That probably will never be called on. It is nearly half of the figure being talked about in the USA, which is $700 billion. Let us not say it is realistic and congratulate the Minister. Why in the name of God did he not sack the Financial Regulator? For the past four or five years, the banks have been allowed, by the Financial Regulator, to lend money on 100% loan, as Senator O'Toole referred to, and to lend money to property developers to whom they should not have lent any money, and they have gone berserk.

There is only one body in this country that can stop that, and that is the Financial Regulator. The Financial Regulator has been asleep on the job. It is not the Minister's job to rescue shareholders; I do not give a hoot about shareholders, that is their problem. When this is over and the shares have rallied, are we going to have the same people doing the same things with the same problem? There is no evidence of a change of personnel or regulation at this stage.