David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned about what has been happening to this country. I also wish the Minister, Deputy Noonan, well. Senator Hayden said that this measure was not rushed. I left towards the end of business yesterday; I had to make a journey. I was not informed that anything was going on here. I came back to find that emergency legislation had been pushed through the House in the early hours of the morning and that the President had had to return from Rome. If that is not rushed, I do not know what is. I may not be as informed as Senator Hayden but I have a nodding acquaintance with the English language and the meaning of its vocabulary.

This measure is transferring a debt that is not ours into sovereign debt. That means we are giving away our last card. The European Central Bank is not a sentimental organisation. As far as I am concerned, we are depending on the kindness of strangers. Frankfurt's ways can be strange ways, and there is damn all kindness about them as far as I can see. We are in the hands of loan sharks. Senator Harte was right to pick up the defective analogy my colleague, Senator Cullinane, produced. We are taking out a mortgage to pay somebody else's credit card debt. That is the rub. That is the problem. My colleague Senator Barrett - I pay tribute to his sterling performance last night - has informed me that debt as a percentage of GDP, which was 25% five years ago, is now 125%. That is the situation we are in. It is very dangerous to give away our cards when we are facing this kind of situation.

With regard to our own banks, we do not count. They are getting as arrogant as the Government. I was in the bank yesterday and I was given a little leaflet, which was very helpful. It appears it is good for us that the bank is changing everything around to machines. In one section there are only two human beings, and a wall of machines has replaced what was there before. We are asked to buy our own foreign currency drafts but only drafts of more than ¤500 in value will be available for purchase. Only international payments valued at more than ¤3,000 will be processed at the branch counter. The credit card facility will no longer be available at the branch counter, and payments to non-Bank-of-Ireland accounts will no longer be available at the bank's counter.