Gerard Craughwell (Independent)

I too would like to remember Sr. Stan. May her gentle soul rest in peace. As a proud Galwegian, like the Leader, I am sure we both feel that the election of Catherine Connolly was a great thing - a woman born in The Claddagh and reared in Shantalla. Many people who were born in addresses in both of those areas did not have the same opportunity in life. What a great thing it is to see Catherine create a vacancy for the Leader to challenge for a seat in Galway West.

Last night I watched the programme on tracker mortgages. I will write to the Garda Commissioner today seeking an investigation into a possible combined fraudulent action by all of the banks in this country. It seems that collusion took place over the tracker mortgage issue to ensure that ordinary citizens of this country who bailed out the banks were defrauded.To watch couples last night who were screwed out of hundreds and thousands of euro was heartbreaking. One couple had €17,000 repaid to them and another couple got €14,000. The question has to be asked as to how all the banks arrived at the same decision at the same time to deny people the option to return to tracker mortgages after being on a fixed mortgage. It can only spell some sort of collusion between senior bank officials at the very top of the Irish banking industry. We need to ask the Garda Commissioner to investigate this. There is a possible fraud here. I am not saying there is definitely one. I can see the Cathaoirleach and the Clerk ready to jump any minute now-----