Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We should show solidarity with the wonderful people of the beautiful island of Cyprus. Its Government was prepared, under instruction from the troika and others, to steal up to 10% of the people's savings. This reminds us of the pressures the former Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan and the former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, were under in 2008 when they gave a guarantee that savings worth up to ¤100,000 would be protected, even though there was a possible run on the banks at that stage with Joe Duffy's show and others promoting the withdrawal of funds. They resisted this pressure. We should recognise their strength and the work they did in resisting those pressures. The current Government committed to burning the bondholders but instead has given them bonuses. In 2008 individual shareholders in AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB lost out significantly, but the people with savings were not affected.