Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed to hear that. If the Leader was aware of the unavailability of the Minister until 1.45 p.m. perhaps he could have taken the opportunity to include statements on topical issues for an hour prior to that. If the occasion arises in the future, and if the Leader has been given sufficient advance notice, he might give consideration to such a measure, in particular on a Thursday.

The release by the ECB of the famous letter from the then President, Jean-Claude Trichet, has raised very important and serious questions about the role of the ECB at a time when the country was facing economic collapse. The then Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, was aware of the threat implied in the letter that has been released, that funding would be withdrawn from Irish banks that would inevitably lead to a collapse of the banks and, by extension, serious damage to the economy, which was already in serious free-fall. I am sure the public will interpret the letter in such a way as to suggest that the then Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, had little choice but to bow to what I can only describe as the bullying of the President of the ECB.

One can compare it to a normal bank dealing with the extension of a customer's loan. It would be an appalling vista for any bank to not only provide the loan but to then say that one would have to sell one's house and to take certain steps insisted on by the bank before it would extend the loan. That is exactly what the country was facing at the time. The questions that have been raised by the letter indicate that at a very minimum, the ECB should now instruct Jean-Claude Trichet to appear before the banking inquiry that is currently under way in this country, and that he would answer questions about the time.

I also understand that the letter in question is the first in a series of letters. At least three other letters were written to the then Minister for Finance, Mr. Lenihan, by Jean-Claude Trichet in his capacity as President of the ECB at the time. I call on the Government to release the letters into the public domain so that the public will at last have a full understanding of the choices that were then faced by the Minister for Finance.

The vote that was taken in this House yesterday was unprecedented not only in my time but in the decades this Seanad has been in existence. Not only did the dissenting Senators from the Government side cross the floor to support a Fianna Fáil motion but the entire Labour Party en bloccrossed the floor and voted against its Government and divided the coalition on that vote. I appreciate that the vote taken is not legally binding and that it has a moral rather than a legal force. I am aware, as the House will be aware, that legislation on a constitutional amendment cannot be initiated in this House and must be initiated in the Dáil.
Will the Leader explain to the House his intention and that of his Government to reflect the overwhelming voice of this House yesterday in regard to the holding a constitutional referendum? The Minister, Deputy Kelly, who has responsibility for water services, came to the House yesterday and acknowledged the importance of the vote, the will of this House and promised to convey that will to the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach. I understand that overnight the Minister, Deputy Kelly, was given a rap across the knuckles by the Taoiseach in regard to the indications of commitments he made that he supported the holding of a referendum.