Joe O'Toole (Independent)

If I suggested anywhere that it is social democratic, I will buy him dinner in the most expensive restaurant in Dublin and we will argue it further.

The Minister has a legal background so I invite him and Members of the House to listen with an open mind to what is in the provision: "The Minister shall not approve a restructuring plan or business plan that does not comply with the law of the State and of the European Communities...". We are passing a law which tells the Minister not to break the law. What are we doing? This is creating clover for lawyers, who will argue some day in a court about some other section of the legislation and that if in fact they meant the Minister not to break the law in the application of this aspect of NAMA, would they not have said it in the legislation given it is in this section of the legislation. This is tautology. As a legislator, I find it offensive. I assume social democratic, socialist, Christian democratic legislators and theocratic legislators, as there apparently are such legislators-----