Phil Prendergast (Labour)

To put €22 billion into the bank is a mistake of epic proportions. The bank in question was run by Seán FitzPatrick, David Drumm and Willie McAteer. It lied to the market about its true financial position. It was involved in the Irish Glass Bottle site fiasco. Its directors gave themselves secret loans. The Minister for Finance and his Government colleagues have presented themselves to the people and said "trust us". How can we do so, when we know how gullible and wrong the Government has been? Where is the evidence to show it knows what it is doing? Where is the evidence to suggest it is motivated by the public interest? What advice was the Government acting on when it gave a blanket guarantee to Anglo Irish Bank? We would like to know that. The figures we were given in 2008 have proved wildly wrong. The Government trusted people who were obviously not trustworthy. It refused to take control of banks that are important to this country, while buying in entirely to those that are not. There will be a price to pay for this. We are paying for it already. The people who will pay the highest price have not been born yet.