Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State. I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to this debate. As others said, the events of last Tuesday, 30 March, represented the catalyst for this debate. On that dark day for us all, the Minister for Finance disclosed the extent of the public debt and the amount of money that would have to be poured into Anglo Irish Bank and other banks. It was revealed not only that we had already put €4 billion into Anglo Irish Bank, but also that we would put a further €8.3 billion into it this week and a further €10 billion in the future, giving a total of €22 billion. There is enormous public anger about the bailout of Anglo Irish Bank, in particular. As many have acknowledged, although this zombie bank is not of particular systemic importance, as other banks might be, its bailout will impose a greater cost on the Exchequer than the bailout of any other bank. There is immense public anger about this.

We also received bad news on Tuesday about the appointment of administrators to Quinn Insurance. As the Minister of State said, Mr. Justice Cooke agreed on that day to an application by the Financial Regulator that two provisional administrators be appointed to Quinn Insurance Limited. Clearly, our concern must be with those who are directly employed by the company and understandably face an uncertain time. One has to stress, as the Minister of State has done, that this is a provisional administration, that the matter is sub judice, that the administrators will run the firm as a going concern and that it will remain open for business. Senators on both sides of the House are hoping the jobs of the many people employed in the firm will be protected.

I am sure other Senators, like me, have received an e-mail from an employee in Cavan who has expressed dismay at the way in which this situation has come about and her great uncertainty and fear for the future as a result of the actions of the Financial Regulator. Like other Members, I know County Cavan very well. I have many friends in Belturbet. I know the extent of poverty and disadvantage experienced by people living in Border counties during the years, although perhaps less so in recent years. For many years, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they did not get the advantages enjoyed by people in other parts of the country. That is all part of the context of this debate.

Having said that, there is cause for less dismay about Tuesday's announcement when one bears in mind the clear need for more robust regulation of the financial services sector. The other big announcement on Tuesday, to which I have alluded, was the announcement by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, that billions of euro would be poured into Anglo Irish Bank, in particular, and other banks. That announcement was a direct result of the failure of regulatory structures, the lack of a robust regulatory system and the absence of decisive action that should have been taken by the Financial Regulator. Such action should have been taken, in the interests of allaying the fears of consumers and customers, when it became clear that banks which made profits for many years were not maintaining a sufficient asset base to remain properly solvent. This real problem was a fundamental aspect of the lead-up to the collapse of the banking system.

If we want to have a robust system of financial regulation, we will have to allow action to be taken by the Financial Regulator. I say this as a matter of general principle because we do not know what will happen in the case of Quinn Insurance. We hope it will stay afloat, its employees will remain in place and its consumers will be protected. However, we have to recognise the need for robust regulation. We must acknowledge that a sequence of events led to Tuesday's application in the High Court. There was a history of Quinn Insurance Limited failing to provide the Financial Regulator with financial recovery plans. It has been widely reported that the Financial Regulator had been trying since 2008 to require Quinn Insurance to deliver an acceptable and viable financial recovery plan. A settlement was reached with Quinn Insurance in October 2008 when the Financial Regulator found reasonable cause to suspect that regulatory requirements had been breached. Following that decision, Sean Quinn stepped down as chairman of the insurance company and there was a series of other events that ultimately led to the discovery that the Quinn Insurance Group had a black hole in its accounts and that the unencumbered assets had been reduced by €448 million. The insurance subsidiary had moved from a position where it had an excess of assets over liabilities of more than €200 million to a position where it had an excess of €200 million of liabilities over assets.

We need to bear in mind the need to maintain a robust regulatory system, while thinking of the employees and consumers of the Quinn Insurance Group.