Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am deeply uneasy about the stay on legal actions against the bank. I am deeply concerned that it was as planned as the Government said last night. What plans could have been or should have been put in place for the staff who are not going to be taken on by a liquidator who will not have the same salaries and conditions? They are a concern.

Underlying all of that is a concern about the deal. Promissory notes and special purpose vehicles are from Mars when compared with what the people are interested in. They want to know what will help them pay their child care bills and decrease their mortgage arrears. We need a deal that is tangible. Once upon a time I held a different view but that has evolved as it should as we learn more. A write-down is essential in a European context. Last night I said briefly that Europe and the ECB have manipulated a process, whether it is Germany, France or the super powers, to politically appease their own nations and suit themselves and use Ireland as a pawn. As the Spanish crisis grows they will be forced to act and I hope for that in earnest. We all support the Minister for Finance and all efforts to secure a good deal today but it must involve a write-down.

I shall turn to another issue and I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence. Next Tuesday the hospitals groupings will be announced which is a critically important issue for the region concerned. The report is being prepared by Mr. John Higgins and he will recommend that the Sligo Regional Hospital and Letterkenny Hospital will be grouped with University College Hospital Galway. We appreciate that those areas need to be directly linked with a tertiary hospital for certain expertise. Mr. Higgins will acknowledge in his report that there is a unique geographic situation at work in the north-west region. We may need to establish a group within the group with its own governance structure for Letterkenny and Sligo, in particular. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate immediately after the report is made available on Tuesday because it is vitally important. Unlike the clinical programmes such as cancer services and changes in cardiology, we do not need to make the same mistake, that is shutting down the north-west region.