Jimmy Harte (Labour)

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. This is an important Bill. As alluded to by Senator Barrett, it would not have been necessary if the banks had done their business and stuck to what they were set up to do, namely, banking. Retail banking and investment banking became mixed up and these must be separate. I refer to the Northern Rock issue in the UK. When the head of Northern Rock resigned it transpired that he was a public relations person who did not have a banking background. The banking system needs to change and small businesses must be able to access credit.

On a sad note, I spoke last week about a Donegal man, Hugh Green, who is the current Donegal person of the year. He emigrated to New Zealand 60 years ago and made millions and never borrowed one dollar from a bank in New Zealand. He became a multimillionaire. He rang The Irish Times when he was listed on the rich list to say that he was worth twice as much as the newspaper had estimated. Sadly, he passed away on the night I spoke about him. May he rest in peace.