Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

There is only one issue in regard to the banking crisis we have talked about but it is the issue the Minister is avoiding on every occasion, namely, capitalisation. The Minister said in Brussels after the ECOFIN meeting that the issue of recapitalisation of banks was being considered by some EU states but he did not believe that policy was necessary in Ireland, although he considered that events were moving very quickly. Events are moving very quickly and the action by the UK authorities is an indication of that. The statement from the Minister, however, shows that he does not understand the banking crisis and that he does not make the distinction between liquidity and solvency. He does not realise that the State guarantee cannot resolve the issue of capitalisation and that Irish banks are no different from banks in the United Kingdom or on continental Europe. The fact is that the State guarantee promulgated last week has been overtaken by events.