Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I believe there has been a certain amount of jealousy in the Financial Times over the years at the success of the Celtic tiger and that it is delighting in the trouble we are in. However, we have a responsibility as regards transparency that is critical for the future.

I cannot understand that a director can avail of loans and not let his or her board know, and that the law is not being broken. This could not happen in the United States. We need to get Ernst & Young representatives to come before an Oireachtas committee and tell us what they are at. I believe this is no different from Arthur Andersen and Enron. How much do the auditors get in fees for Anglo Irish Bank? Will they show up what has been done wrong? We must question this role of the auditors and how they carry out their duties.

This is not a retail bank with hundreds of branches around the country like AIB and the Bank of Ireland. I am concerned by the 1,200 employees currently working for Anglo Irish Bank. They and their families must be in a traumatic state, wondering whether they will have jobs in the future. I may be speaking passionately and I am not against the Minister but rather I support what he has done. However, he needs to clarify for the employees of the bank whether they will have their jobs. I am glad that it will become a public sector organisation. The public sector has been harangued in recent times, but there is no example there of lack of integrity such as we have seen in Anglo Irish Bank.