Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I question why we are being given the runaround with regard to a debate on the banks and NAMA. The only logical explanation is that the Government is all at sea on the banks and totally confused with the results from the banks such as those from AIB today. The implications for the Government of the corrections to the NAMA scheme in final approval being given by the Commission may not yet have been fully assessed. However, I do not consider it acceptable because last year the Leader promised we would be regularly updated on NAMA. For two weeks in succession he has promised the House a debate on the banks and NAMA. We are a year and a half into the banking crisis, credit is still not flowing, no one is responsible for what has happened and no one has been held responsible and it can be seen in the AIB results that between bond buy-backs, the selling of assets, the transferring of toxic loans to NAMA, the rights issue and the divesting of assets, it will be another 18 months before all of this is done and dusted and credit flows. It would, therefore, be very useful to have a debate on the banks and some clarity on the part of the Government as to where we go from here. At that point I will give Senator Leyden a comprehensive answer.