Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like everyone else I abhor the revelations on the Anglo Irish Bank tapes. Senator Ó Domhnaill has accused the current Ministers of lip service. It will be very interesting to hear what type of lip service was coming from Ministers involved at the time. I welcome the call by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, for voluntary statements from these politicians who were involved at the time because the least the people of the country deserve, is a clear statement as to what went on in terms of communications with the bank. The Minister for Justice and Equality indicated this morning that an Oireachtas inquiry is possible, and while it may not have the teeth it would have had if the referendum had passed, Senator Crown is correct to state we need an inquiry and to ask these questions. It should happen in the very near future.

I also want to mention briefly the ESRI report which indicates attitudes in the country to immigrants are becoming more negative. The study reveals Irish attitudes towards immigrants were very positive between 2002 and 2006 but have become much more negative since then. The 2012 annual monitoring report on integration, which was launched yesterday, has some startling findings. As it may not be possible to have a debate on this before the end of the term, I call for a debate on it in the next term.