Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I will be brief, as the Cathaoirleach is under pressure for time. I congratulate my good friend and colleague, Senator Mooney, on his election to the Seanad. I pay tribute to him for his dedication and commitment to the House and various organisations for two decades. I warmly congratulate him, Sheila and his family. We have missed him for the past two and a half years. He mentioned that he might require a pairing soon, but I hasten to say that he should consider himself to have been paired for the past two and a half years and that no pairings will be forthcoming in the near future.

Like many Senators, I welcome the Government's inquiry into the banks. While this might not satisfy some inside and outside the House, I am confident the Government is doing as much as it can not to hinder the investigations carried out by the Financial Regulator and the Garda. I look forward to the outcome of all the investigations.

As Senator Coghlan and others have pointed out, the public have a right to know what went wrong in our banking system. However, it is important that we not take our eye off the ball in terms of banks. Small and large businesses have closed and are about to close the length and breadth of the country simply because they cannot get credit. This is the public's most immediate concern. No credit is available, but the banks are, if the House will excuse my unparliamentary language, screwing the ordinary person daily. We should not let them off the hook in this respect.