Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I have made the point before that I do not believe the Government protects the vulnerable as it should do. I raised this point in regard to the way the budget cuts especially affected the young and the elderly. I am disturbed that the risk of female genital mutilation is not considered an adequate reason by Irish courts for a family to be allowed to remain in this country. The barbaric idea that two young girls could be subjected to this awful practice and that Ireland would not intervene is not reflecting the will of the vast majority of people in this country, who would want to see Pamela Izevbekhai being allowed to stay in this country with her two children, particularly in view of the fact her eldest daughter has already died as a result of this practice. One can understand her huge anxiety about returning to the country where this happened. Were it not for the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights, she would have been deported yesterday.

I ask the Leader to convey to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform our concern about this case. I hope, irrespective of what the European Court of Human Rights decides, that the Government will take a humanitarian approach to this case given the amount of distress the family have been through already.

In terms of protecting the vulnerable, I want to raise an issue in regard to an art collection in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the "Outsider Art" collection, which has been on loan to this country for ten years. It was put together by people who have had mental health difficulties and is a particular form of art. While the country has had the collection for ten years, arbitrarily the owners have now been asked to remove it from IMMA. I ask the Leader to follow this up and find why it is happening. Again, it involves a vulnerable group but it also involves a particular, well recognised form of art. We are lucky to have the collection in this country but a decision has been made arbitrarily to remove it from IMMA.

The key concern on our minds this morning is the situation regarding the banks. In the Irish Independent, for example, David McWilliams, among many others, states: "Act now, minister, or we will all live to regret it." Deputy Richard Bruton writes an article today stating we should be clear that at this point the banks are a tool, no more, no less. In the long term, the banking sector needs to be radically reformed, as does the public sector.

Senators on this side of the House as well as on the Government side asked yesterday where is the plan from Government. We hear about late night meetings but we desperately need to hear from the Minister for Finance in this House about his plans. Equally, we need answers to questions regarding what measures he proposes to safeguard the public interest if and when such recapitalisation takes place. I am especially concerned at the reliance being placed on putting directors into the banks because they will be in a position where there is a clear conflict of interest.

Everybody would want to be reassured that if there is to be recapitalisation, the money will be used for the right reasons and that small businesses, which are the lifeblood of this economy, will get the income and support they need. They are the businesses that will give us hope in a year or two when, we hope, the economy recovers. However, if they do not get the right support now, they will not recover or be able to give the kind of hope that is needed in the country. When will we have a debate on the current economic situation, the banks and the Government's approach to them at this critical time?