Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for her amendment but I do not propose to accept it. As with the amendments put forward by her party colleagues in the Dáil, this proposal seeks to dictate a certain course of action. In addition, it seeks to place a restriction on the Minister's discretion in terms of any application for retroactive recapitalisation. In the case of this amendment, the restriction relates to an obligation on the Minister to present a monthly report on progress made in regard to any application. This would limit flexibility on my part and would place us at a disadvantage in terms of our negotiating position.

As I have outlined on several occasions during the passage of this Bill - most recently, earlier in the week in this House - seeking a retroactive capitalisation is only one of a number of possible options available for recovering the money the State invested when ensuring our banks did not collapse. The best way to ensure the Irish taxpayer gains the maximum possible return on the money that went towards preventing the collapse of the State's banking system is by being in a position to consider all the options open to us for pursuing such a return.

While not ruling out the possibility of Ireland making an application for retroactive direct recapitalisation of the pillar banks at some point, it is potentially not the only option available to us. It must be stressed again that the determining factor will be which option will achieve the maximum return for the taxpayer.