Shane Ross (Independent)

I agree that nobody should be excluded simply on the basis of membership of a political party but dozens of people who are qualified to sit on the Central Bank commission have no association with political parties. The suspicion that those who are closely associated with political parties can be relied on to do what their party demands rather than serve the interest of the State will be held over the Central Bank if these eight ministerial nominees are appointed in the sordid method this Government has used to make appointments to all the semi-State bodies under its control.

This issue is too serious to play politics. The future of the nation is in the hands of the Central Bank. The performance of the Government leaves an enormous amount to be desired in this area and not only with regard to Anglo Irish Bank. The Government's appointment of Mr. Honohan and Mr. Elderfield indicates it has some idea of the importance of independence but when it comes to the banks it capitulates and appoints the same people. It had an incredible opportunity with Bank of Ireland to appoint someone untainted with past associations but it appointed someone who had been chief executive of that bank for many years. It could have done the same in AIB but it let the deputy chairman slip in. Nothing changed. Nearly all the directors of AIB who were in place during the property frenzy remain. Even though the Government virtually controls that bank, it has done nothing to replace them. Colm Doherty, the arch insider who is chief executive of AIB, was appointed with the eventual consent of the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach. While they resisted it for a while, they were eyeballed, gave in and lost. The same occurred when Richie Boucher was appointed chief executive of the Bank of Ireland. We have the same guys in charge, the same people at all levels and no change.

Why did the Minister not take the opportunity to introduce something along the lines of what is being done by the Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, on which Senator O'Toole sits? It is interviewing candidates for one of the State bodies and while I do not know how this is proceeding, the process is certainly taking place. Why was a body that is a little detached from us not established to make these appointments and ensure they have credibility? If the Minister returns next week with a list of eight appointees and I am able to argue that the loyalty of the individuals in question - at least seven of them at any rate given that the Green Party would insist on one appointment - is more to the Fianna Fáil Party than to the State, the Central Bank commission will be in danger of being discredited, despite having ex officio members. In such circumstances, the entire organisation would be discredited.

Why must the Secretary General of the Department of Finance sit on the commission when it will include as members the Governor of the Central Bank and head of regulation? One of the great problems under the old regime was that the Secretary General of the Department automatically became the Governor of the Central Bank. This has been changed in what was a welcome and great break with the past. However, while this appeared to be a culture change, the Minister has now made a provision to automatically make the Secretary General a member of the commission. As a result, the Department will continue to exert a strong influence.

I cannot emphasise how important these appointments are. If there is to be an acid test of independence, it should be that we can be confident that those who are appointed are strong enough to say "No" to the Minister and tell him they will not do what he wants. Many of the appointments the Minister has made to the banks, including the nationalised bank, do not pass that test. I will not name again the individuals to whom I refer but they are self-evident because they have pedigree in the Fianna Fáil Party and extraordinarily obvious loyalties to it.