Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

That is why we need a debate. I appreciate from where Senator Ross is coming. He has had some very good ideas in this regard and that is why there is a need for a two-way debate on this issue. To some degree, I believe we are being compelled to support this scheme to try to make it work for the Irish financial sector. However, I look forward to hearing other Senators' views, as should the Minister of State. We should not all make a five or ten-minute contribution and then leave the House, because this issue is unfolding. The situation will change next week and the week after that. We may need to look at it differently week after week. The Government must be more open with Members of this House and the public which will pay for this fiasco, but that is not happening.

We cannot amend the scheme because if we try to make any changes to it, the Minister will have to go back to the EU and start again from scratch. I do not believe there is any inclination on the Government side to do that because they feel they have done its job so far. However, there is more to this crisis and the Minister should discuss that with us. We should also talk about how we ended up in this mess and what we are going to do about it.

The banks make excellent profits and they may well be down in the next couple of years, although not substantially. There is a need for the Minister to outline more clearly how he will ensure customers will not be fleeced with extra charges over the next few years to improve the profitability of the banks. The Minister must demonstrate that the banks will try and improve liquidity in the markets so that businesses can survive. It is very important that money gets into the marketplace. Risks must continue to be taken in this regard. If the banks stop supplying these moneys to the markets, we will be in an even greater crisis next year.

These are the matters that should form the basis of this discussion. I would prefer to see more of a debate in this House on this scheme rather than the type of statements we are having. I am looking forward to hearing the contributions of other Senators, particularly those of Senators with strong views that the scheme is a bad idea or who feel we should reject it. Their views should inform all our thinking. I do not think there is a person in the House or the country who has a full understanding of where the situation is headed.

We must acknowledge that we do not know where this will end or whether the crisis will worsen. We do not know whether one or perhaps two banks will fail or whether to expect mergers. We do not know what the impact of the situation will be on the international scene. We are playing by ear on this issue. We should look on it as the national crisis it has turned out to be and involve everybody in the decision making. The Minister should acknowledge others are playing a significant role in the situation and that the Government is not doing all the running. The Government got us into this and we are willing to try and get it out of it, but we need more discussion on it.