Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

These late night crisis meetings regarding the banking situation are not doing us any good and I suggest there has been too much delay. Everybody has made the case for a banking debate and a debate on the wider economy. We are all concerned about the economy and the future of business within our economy. We need to know whether the Government has in mind a State rescue plan or is it seeking a foreign cash injection. If it is a State rescue plan, how does the Minister intend to proceed regarding the issue referred to by our leader on this side of the House? If people are to be nominated to act in the public interest, how will they get over the conflict of interest regarding company law? Does the Minister have in mind — the sooner we know this the better — amending legislation to get over the difficulties in that regard?

As Senator O'Toole pointed out, a recapitalisation may not necessarily help our ailing economy, which is suffering so much, because it may not remove restrictive lending policies. It may simply be used to add to the cash reserves to balance the ratios, but in any event we need to hear from the Leader in response to all the requests we are making on a daily basis. When can we have the debate and, if the Minister for Finance cannot come to the House, we should not have to wait for the Finance Bill. We should be able to have our own debate on these issues forthwith.