Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

It will be a lot more than that. It will impact on our ability to pay for schemes such as the national development plan. I would like to hear the Minister's opinion on that. The Minister of State claimed that detailed analysis from the NTMA shows that the assets of Irish financial institutions exceed their liabilities by €80 billion. This is an aggregate figure, however, which does not reveal whether the assets and liabilities of individual institutions are more finely matched. We need to know whether any individual institution is close to the edge because, once again, that will impact on the guarantees we are providing.

We must place caps on salaries and share options because bankers have each way bets at present. By increasing the risks they take, they will gain through bonuses, share options or salaries, and if their risk taking is not successful they will be paid off. They win either way. We must have regard for the moral hazards that can arise. It is not enough to state this will be a priority for the Government. I ask for details on how the Minister expects to achieve a reduction in moral hazard.