Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom cur leis na focail a dúirt na Seanadóirí eile agus briseadh deas a ghuí ar gach éinne. Tá súil agam go mbainfidh foireann an Tí agus na Seanadóirí go léir taitneamh as an aimsir mhaith atá againn faoi láthair. Tá súil agam go mbeidh aimsir níos fearr againn i mí Lúnasa.

I wish all Senators a good summer recess. I thank the staff of the House for their diligent work since the 24th Seanad commenced its business.

The first issue to which I wish to refer in respect of the Order of Business relates to the comments made by the head of financial regulation at the Central Bank during his appearance at the MacGill Summer School in my constituency. In my opinion those comments were completely out of line with public opinion. I refer, in particular, to his suggestion that the remuneration available for bank bosses should not be capped at €500,000. The head of financial regulation should not have made those comments and should not delve into such issues. I welcome the prompt response by the Minister of State and the Minister for Finance in totally rejecting his remarks. We learned last night that management at Allied Irish Banks supports Mr. Elderfield's comments and is seeking increases in bankers' pay. What else would one expect from those who brought this country to its knees? Each party in the Oireachtas should state unequivocally its total opposition to any increase in bankers' remuneration above €500,000. If people are not prepared to take a job on that level of pay, they should not be offered it. I ask the Leader for a debate in September on the status of the investigation into activities at Anglo Irish Bank. I hope the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, will come to the House for that debate. The full rigours of the law must be brought to bear on the people concerned.

I did not have an opportunity on yesterday's Order of Business to commend the Government on its achievement in securing a reduction of two percentage points in the interest rate payable on Ireland's bailout deal, which will bring about tangible savings to the Exchequer. Unfortunately, those savings will not be passed on to householders in any direct way via the budgetary process.