Alex White (Labour)

Very good. His frustration is shared by the public, given the apparent inability, even of the Minister, to obtain details. However, we must accept what he tells us, as always. In regard to Bank of Ireland, for example, details of bonuses paid may have been withheld from him or at least not made available to him, as they should have been, in a timely manner.

It is a little like our earlier discussion. There is the substantive issue of bonuses and the fact that they have had such a corrosive effect on how the banking system operated and, ultimately, almost collapsed, not just in this country but also overseas. There is a huge debate about the excessive bonuses paid and the reckless lending engaged in by those who were able to earn these bonuses. However, we do not even have to have that debate on bonuses and their corrosive effect. All I seek in the recommendation is that the details of the names of all of the officers, employees or contractors to whom bonuses have been paid in the institutions covered by the eligible liabilities guarantee scheme be submitted to Dáil Éireann.

On reflecting on the recommendation at this relatively late stage of the discussion on the Bill, the issue of a 30 day period arises. The Minister said not so much that it was onerous, but that it might not be appropriate that details of every single bonus paid, right down to the man or woman earning €20,000 to €30,000 a year, would be required to be submitted. However, it seems not unreasonable in the case of bonuses paid above a particular level, where the liabilities are being guaranteed, where there is an enormous commitment on the part of the State to the institutions concerned and where the Government has stated it was unhappy with the level of bonuses paid and accepts there was a complete lack of reality in this regard, if that is not putting too mildly. It seems there is still an insistence on the part of many institutions to maintain this crazy culture of paying excessive bonuses. All we are doing is seeking to ascertain whether we can get hold of this issue by way of the information being communicated to Dáil Éireann. It is the State and its Parliament, the Oireachtas, that are guaranteeing these institutions and doing so much to revive and keep them alive - perhaps too much in the case of one or two of them. While we need to take steps to ensure we will have a banking system, the bonus culture is definitely at the heart of what has gone wrong. All we are looking for is information to be communicated on the level of bonuses paid across the board.