Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I do not deny the good faith of the Opposition in putting forward this idea.

The Labour Party put forward a different idea in the other House where there would be a 24-month ban on repossessions. As part of the recapitalisation, we agreed a 12-month ban on repossessions in Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland, and Senator Norris will be disappointed to hear a deluge of rating agencies suggested we had abolished the fundamentals of a safe banking system. We must proceed with care in this area, but we also must ensure that in a time when this adjustment must take place to make ourselves competitive, we keep the roof over everyone's head. We all must address that problem, and I am not taking from that in any respect.

Senator John Paul Phelan made a number of points, most of which I have addressed. He raised the point that British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, echoed the Taoiseach's words that the taxpayer is left to carry the can in this matter. Unfortunately, that is the position we are in because, as I stated already, if we do not have a viable banking system, we will not have a viable economy. We are not bailing out the banks, we are bailing out the economy. I dealt with most of Senator O'Reilly's points already.

I thank Senators for their contributions. I hope I managed to deal with most of the points made in the debate. I will attend the Committee Stage in the morning and I hope we can have a constructive debate on the amendments that have been tabled.