Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will do so. I also have a series of questions which I would like the Minister to address. Sinn Féin believes AIB should be retained as a State bank. It is profitable and there have been dividends for the past three years. It is a profitable asset for the State and those who profited from the bankruptcy of the State and the austerity forced upon Irish citizens are now queuing up to make even more profits. The fundamental belief of Sinn Féin is that the profits and dividends need to go to Irish citizens.

I have to smile when I hear that we are doing it on the back of advice from Rothschild, and Goldman Sachs before that. Forgive me if I do not have confidence in either of those two organisations. It is well known that they created some of the economic crisis just to profit from it. They are always there to lend a helping hand to weak governments. Senator O'Donnell said we should be aware that if we borrow money it has to be repaid but a lot of money was borrowed by this country and the citizens who never borrowed had to pay for it.