Shane Ross (Independent)

Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for Finance to come to the House? The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Martin Mansergh, has been to the House for various debates and, while he is a man of great ability, he is not the real McCoy. We desperately need the Minister for Finance to come and listen to our opinions on various matters, not just the Bill we will discuss tonight, for which he may be in the House.

Last night when the Fine Gael motion on banking was being debated, the Minister of State was in attendance for all of it and that has been the tendency. It is indicative of the fact we are not being listened to that, while the motion on banking was being debated and promises and aspirations for a new dawn in banking were being made, at that same moment, at 6 p.m. last night, the appointment of the new chief executive of the Bank of Ireland was being announced. This is possibly the most disgraceful appointment in the business world in living memory partly because it was a political, national and commercial imperative that Bank of Ireland did not appoint an insider. It was a devastating blow to those who wished to revive the fortunes and morale of and confidence in the banks when this man was appointed. This is no reflection on him. He is an insider.

Let me state this to the Leader. The appointment was made not by the Minister but by exactly the same cabal of people who made prior appointments in the Bank of Ireland. The chairman was the governor of the Bank of Ireland. The governor rang the Minister to keep him in touch with what was going on and told him that this was the best appointment and they were going to appoint him. This is a terrible blow to those of us who wish to see confidence in banking restored. Mr. Goggin is gone and Mr. Boucher, son of Brian, is appointed.