Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacú leis an moladh atá déanta ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Zappone agus dea-ghuí a ghabháil maidir le Seachtain an Bhróid. Táim cinnte go mbeidh an-deireadh seachtaine ag gach duine. I concur with the remarks of Senator Zappone, who offered her best wishes to everyone for pride week. Would that we could be so proud of our bankers it might be a better day. There has been much discussion overnight in Europe regarding an agreement which would see investors and wealthy depositors help to save any failing banks in future. It is important that we are seeing such movement. I make the point in the context of when Sinn Féin put forward the notion of burning bondholders because we were told that it could never happen and that it was totally impossible. There is movement in that area but I also note that we are being told that it will be 2018 before any of that could actually start.

I concur with much of the sentiment on the banking sector. However, among the general public there is little confidence, even at the moment, in the banking sector. There is still a sense that the tail is wagging the dog. The press statements and the revelations about the telephone calls may show that some of the more cavalier people in the banking system were totally over the top, but there is also a sense that the culture was prevalent among the top echelons in most of the banks. Many of these bankers continued in positions of authority and some of them still do.

We need a broader debate on the implications of this potential deal in Europe for Irish citizens. How is it going to take the burden off us? I appreciate that it will not happen today because the Minister is still in Brussels, but it is something we should have soon. Will we see relief for Irish citizens? There was great talk when we assumed the EU Presidency that we would be seeking a deal on the debt burden on Irish citizens, but there is not much talk about it at the moment. I am hopeful that something will come of these negotiations, but 2018 is a long way down the road and Irish citizens are still suffering. It is important to have a debate not only on the mortgage distress situation, but on the culture of banking in Ireland and whether the tail is still wagging the dog.