Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have no doubt that she will be more than happy to come here to discuss the mobility allowance. The deal on banker bonuses has been mentioned by a number of Senators and I also congratulate this European Presidency on the progress made in the overall banking agenda. It is nevertheless important to remember that we are talking about limiting bank bonuses to one year of salary or, in some cases, two years of salary. It is hardly a case of bringing the rate to 10% or 15%, which many people might get as a Christmas bonus or a few bob as a means of saying "well done". We must put the issue in perspective.

It is amazing that we are discussing the bonuses of people who were incentivised to go out and destroy the banking system of the European Union, selling bogus products to people who trusted them. There are a number of issues that we, as a House, should be discussing with regard to the banking sector. I again ask the Leader to bring in the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, specifically to discuss banking. We should also discuss the mortgage arrears crisis and recent statistics from the Credit Review Office indicating that Irish people are not able to access credit and are not in a position to complain, as they are in many cases limited to two or three banks; if they live in a rural area, they may be limited to one bank. We must have a serious debate in the House about the banking sector and the only person with whom to have the debate is the Minister with responsibility, Deputy Michael Noonan.