Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

Yesterday, the Taoiseach made a couple of disparaging remarks in the other House in response to my party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, about the bank guarantee. He misled the House yesterday when he said there was no file, or a file may have been shredded, on the documentary evidence given to the Minister for Finance at the time in respect of the decision that had to be taken to bring forward the bank guarantee. I served on the Committee of Public Accounts of the last Dáil where we got extensive files on the advice given and on the choices the Government had to make at the time and the various options. They were published by the Committee of Public Accounts of the previous Dáil.

It beggars belief that the Taoiseach can come into the House and tell Members he cannot find the file, that there was no file or that it might have been shredded. Worse than that, his officials are rowing back from the issue. That is a matter the Taoiseach needs to clarify. In fairness, the Leader cannot do that today. However, the Taoiseach's officials gave a letter to The Irish Times which the Taoiseach sent on 7 June calling not for a debt write down or debt restructuring but a "constructive debate" on the challenges of resolving the Irish and wider European banking problem. That is nothing like what he told the Irish people about getting a better deal. In no shape or form does he state what Ireland is seeking. Two weeks ago I asked that the letter be published in the Houses of the Oireachtas. The letter should first go to the elected representatives of the people in the Seanad and the Dáil, not to The Irish Times. All we have is a paraphrased letter. To make matters worse, the letter is extremely vague on what Ireland is seeking. It does not refer to debt forgiveness, debt write down or a reduction in interest rates but a Government spokesman said yesterday that there would have been "some more specifics in Mr. Kenny's telephone call with Dr. Merkel." The official apparently knows that but the people do not, because the Taoiseach will not tell us what he said to Chancellor Merkel nor will he tell us what she said to him.

In the recent referendum, the people made a decision, one I agreed with, to back Europe and support a "Yes" vote. At the very least the people deserve clarity on the Government's position. Will the Leader make contact with the Taoiseach to seek a commitment that the letter he sent to Chancellor Merkel and Mr. Van Rompuy on 7 June will be published in full and given to every Member in order that it can be debated properly to ascertain the Government's real position?