John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will preface my request for an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Finance come to the House today and outline not only the timing but the terms of reference of the clearly much-needed banking inquiry, by reminding colleagues of one or two facts. Recently we spoke about drugs for malignant melanoma and we estimated treating every patient in the country would cost €3 million or €4 million. Senator Mary Ann O'Brien has just spoken about the national children's hospital, the cost of which is estimated to be approximately €700 million. The cost of running St. Vincent's Hospital for one year is approximately €170 million. Every day for the next five years, if the repayments are amortised over that period, we will pay €30 million a day in compensation for the obligations we assumed with the bank debts. This equates to €600,000 or €700,000 an hour. One can do the arithmetic oneself. We could buy the drug for everybody who requires it for melanoma every day for the next five years with one day of the expenditure we pay on the bank. We would pay for the cost of the national children's hospital with three weeks of repayments. We all know this and I am probably not being very original when I say it but it is important that while everybody is very fixed on outrage, justice and, perhaps, revenge, people must understand the consequences of the bank problem are real, palpable and affect many people throughout the country. I am not even speaking about the social welfare implications, lost lives, emigration or lost businesses.