Joe O'Toole (Independent)

It ill behoves anybody to cast aspersions on anybody in the middle of all this. I perfectly understand the views of the Opposition parties. I recognise the responsibility of Ministers and other politicians in this regard. I recall that we welcomed the appointment of the new Governor and expressed trust and confidence in him. I recall that we welcomed the appointment of the new Financial Regulator and expressed trust and confidence in him and in his background. I also recall that when we discussed NAMA, we emphasised the importance of the EU's response to it. These are important issues. I thought we had allowed the three authorities in question to run the rule over what we did. They have approved the progress of the Government and given it significant support. I recognise that the Government has spent 18 months developing this approach. While I support everything Senator Donohoe said about the impact of previous decisions on taxpayers - he is completely right - I have to look at the position of Anglo Irish Bank. In October of last year, Fine Gael quite correctly agreed with the decision to support that bank and its savers.