Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I look forward to the debate on the regulations coming from Government. The most important decision we made last week was to have that debate this week.

The Government should be well aware at this stage of the views of people from all walks of life and all sides of the political spectrum, and within Government itself, that in this situation the banks should be made pay for the commercial costs. I heard the chairman of a bank over the weekend saying it would be very unfair, having said thanks to us, if the banks were to be "crippled" with the demands we have put on them. While I would go along with that and do not want to see them crippled, I would not mind seeing them winded or dunted a bit lower down, so they had to clutch at their privates for a while. There is a mood out there to ensure they would be made feel and share the pain on this one. In simple terms, what that means is people can argue about what it would cost to insure the risk on the marketplace. They can argue about whether it would be 1%, 3% or 4%. However, we should remember it is a very easy sum to do. We are talking about a liability cover of up to €400 billion, 1% of that is €4 billion and 3% of it is three times that figure. There is a lot at stake. Surely 1% is the minimum the banks should be asked to pay over the next two years. We need to bear that in mind as we go along. I look forward to the debate on the matter so I will not say any more, but I thought it was important to make a few points as to what the Government should do before it brings the regulations through the Houses. The House will be aware that neither this House nor the other House will be entitled to make changes to the regulations. We are empowered simply to reject or accept them.

I join with what the Leader of the House said about Jack Tobin, a former Clerk of the House. I only knew him for a month while he worked here although I met him a few times afterwards. It was a very difficult month because my colleagues, Senators Ross and Norris, in conjunction with Senators Brendan Ryan, John A. Murphy and Mary Robinson gave me the very attractive task of trying to sort out office space with Mr. Tobin and the Superintendent. He spent a month arguing with me before he took retirement in 1987. I found him a very decent man to deal with but a very difficult man.