Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State but I am not sure I welcome this proposal. I want to be convinced that it will solve the problems facing this nation and the citizens. I tore a page off the calendar yesterday and it said that if we do not take care of the customer, somebody else will. A very important customer in Ireland is the foreign director investor who has lost confidence because of the inefficiency of our regulation system. I want the Minister to convince me that his proposal will restore that confidence. What emerged last week was not only a lack of confidence in the efficiency but a huge lack of trust in the ethical behaviour of our bankers. Will the Minister's proposal solve that? I want him to convince me that is what it will do.

The Sunday Times last Sunday talked about British banking and stated that problems there were caused by irresponsible bankers who had to turn cap in hand to the Government to be bailed out. Will the Minister's proposal ensure that irresponsibility will not be rewarded and that it will be eliminated? I want him to convince me of that too.

Our economy depends on the banks and the availability of credit, about which Senator Butler spoke. Lending to business once again, especially to small and medium sized business, is essential. Without that credit and that banking system, activity will slow down, jobs will disappear and we will not have a successful economy. I want the Minister to convince me that his proposal is going in that direction and will solve that problem too.

I have a problem with this whole area of risk. I have a relative who sold her house ten years ago. The stockbroker or whoever her adviser was told her to put the spare money into something safe and not to risk it at her age as she was in her 60s. She put it into Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank shares. This year she got no dividends and her shares are worthless. Will the Minister's proposal ensure safety while at the same time ensure banks are risk takers as well?

I worry there will be many stipulations. When I see the heavy-handedness of the State running the banks, or believing it has such a say in the banks, I fear the banks may not be risk takers anymore. That is as big a danger as being irresponsible.

A business wants the best people to work in it, so I have a problem with the Government saying it will control the salaries of the people working in the three banks. I was stunned by the huge amounts of money being paid but what happens if the best people say they are being attracted elsewhere? Will the heavy hand of the State mean we will not have the best people working there in future because they will say there are other banks which are not controlled? I want the Minister to convince me that we will have the best people working here.

Ten years ago I became a banker. My company, in conjunction with a financial institution, opened 14 branches of a bank called Tusa, but it failed. It failed because we stuck to the rules which were not adhered to by our competitors. Perhaps that is an excuse on my part and we were bad at running that business. However, we failed and had to close 14 branches and say to those working in them that we had lost the business.

As a taxpayer, I am a banker once again but I am not sure I am delighted about it. I want the Minister to convince me that his proposal is in the best interests of consumers, taxpayers, citizens, those who are threatened with losing their jobs and their businesses and, in particular, of getting the economy going again.