Joe O'Toole (Independent)

People have to make the best judgment as they go along. The reality is that if we let the bank die, it will have an impact on funds and savings, on our international reputation and on the cost of future borrowing. These are real things. I may well be wrong about it, but I can understand the Government's position. I will support the Government's position, with extraordinary reluctance, for those reasons. That is not to say Senator Donohoe was not completely right in everything he said. I differ from him in the conclusion I have reached at the end of my deliberations on the matter. There are other options. It is not correct to say there are no alternatives. There are alternatives. There are none that are attractive at this stage. I completely support Senator Donohoe in the sense that I would love those who invested in Anglo Irish Bank to take a hit on this matter. However, I am not prepared to cut off my nose to spite my face. We need to deal with the bigger issue of the Irish economy and the Irish people.

I spoke yesterday about the question of Quinn Insurance, which has now been related to the collapse of PMPA 20 or 30 years ago. PMPA was a company in crisis at that time. It was not operating at a profit. The issues are completely different. I would like to make a point to parties on all sides of the House. I did not realise until this morning that we are still paying the 2% levy that was imposed on all insurance policy holders to pay for the PMPA black hole.