John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

It is a matter of great importance because it was this particular goal which qualified France for the World Cup, dashed the hopes of the Irish players to play in the international arena and ensured we lost out on the spin-off of that participation in terms of franchising, finance and so on. Although it was not intentional, an injustice has been done. Nor is it the first time such a high-profile controversy has arisen. In the 1980s English people were outraged when their team suffered the injustice of a clear handball goal from their opponents in a famous World Cup match. This is an issue of international concern and it will continue to be a cause of controversy until the situation is resolved.

I congratulate the Minister for Finance on the way he handled the appointment of the chief executive officer of Allied Irish Banks. I am amazed at the contention that he should have gone elsewhere because of the difficulties in the Irish banking sector. The reality is that by far the greatest difficulties were in the international banking sector; that is where the problems arose. Why then should we seek an international candidate? I have no doubt that if an international candidate had been appointed, the Opposition would be asking why an Irish person was not chosen.