Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

Sinn Féin is the new Fianna Fáil on the basis that it puts the party ahead of the nation. That is not good for any political party. I do not say this lightly, as I respect Sinn Féin's three representatives in the Chamber. They are people of ability, but anyone with ability could see that passing the referendum was the right and intelligent choice on behalf of the people. There is a problem within the party, in that the emperor of Sinn Féin is wearing no clothes, but everyone in the party is too afraid to tell him. It needs to be said within with, as it is no good coming from me.

The main question is not about the Bill before the House - it must be passed and become part of the armoury to address the fiscal insanity in Europe - but about whether the European Stability Mechanism will be given a banking licence. This question has been asked by many academics across the world. If it is given a banking licence, will it be allowed to capitalise financial institutions directly?

Five countries require funds from their European counterparts. Cyprus, Spain and Ireland have suffered banking meltdowns.