Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the views expressed by Senators Conway and Whelan on the huge pensions and salaries that apply in banking circles. I spoke yesterday about the epitaph in Messines in Belgium, which reads: "For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today". The generation that is yet to be born will say to us that for your today, you took our tomorrow. We are responsible to the next generation who will look back and see the excesses of the Celtic tiger and the excesses that have continued since the change in government. I have no problem in saying the issues we are dealing with today are a legacy from the previous Administration and the culture of that time. Blame is apportioned in a few places

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to explain to Members of this House and the public how the remuneration packages of senior bankers can be justified. I do not know how many bankers are earning more than ¤500,000, which is nearly 20 times the average industrial wage. There must be a mechanism to review it. We have a duty to the generation that has not yet been born. I concur with my colleagues on both sides of the House who are calling for this matter to be addressed as a matter of urgency.