Joe O'Toole (Independent)

As a disinterested observer, I voted for the guarantee scheme. Knowing what we know now, I would still support the legislation if I had to vote for it again because it was the correct and only decision available to us. However, the Minister is not completely blameless in this nor is the main Opposition party completely to blame. Very responsibly, Fine Gael supported the guarantee legislation.

The Labour Party keeps reminding us that it never supported the legislation. Every time it reminds the Minister of that fact, he responds with the speech he just made to Senator Buttimer. That is the wrong response. The correct response is Professor Honohan's report, which explicitly states that without the guarantee there would have been a run on all the high street banks and the banking sector would have collapsed.