Trench warfare in Dáil debate

THE battle to push the €400 billion banking crisis package through the Dáil descended into trench warfare yesterday as Government and opposition exchanged heavy sniper fire.

Labour tabled a series of amendments to the Bill in a bid to clamp down on “fat cat” pay and ensure the State gets a stake in banks taking advantage of the taxpayers’ generosity.

Fine Gael also stepped up criticism of the legislation as it went through its committee stage on the Dáil floor, as the party echoed Labour’s anger at the lack of detail in the bill.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny pressed for the financial regulator to appoint independent members to the boards of the banks in order to put a break on any “reckless” practices.

Labour’s Eamon Gilmore insisted bank bosses should not be able to “keep their fists in the till” once the six institutions to be supported by the taxpayer were allowed to trade with state guarantees.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan refused the amendments, saying he would force a return to “traditional banking practices” in the institutions and claimed the legislation already gave him powers over pay and renumeration issues.

TDs spent more than five hours discussing the first of about 30 tabled amendments.

Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan demanded to know if the Government acted in such haste in bringing forward the legislation because the banks involved faced a liquidity problem or an solvency one.

He warned that the provisions to give the finance minister sweeping powers over future mergers signalled a solvency problem was feared and the crisis was not about banks refusing to lend to each other, as the Government had stated.

Labour insisted bank bosses should not be paid a cent more than the minister of finance if the “fat cat culture” was to be eradicated as Mr Gilmore warned taxpayers had the right to have much more control of the banks involved.

“We’re effectively being asked to put up the deeds of the country by going guarantors,” he said.

The debate was not without its bizarre moments with Fine Gael Mayo TD Micheal Ring at one stage calling for all bankers to be put in jail.

Mr Kenny urged that foreign owned banks with Irish branches be brought under the security umbrella, and Mr Lenihan agreed to consider the move.

Government TDs stressed the need to act with speed in passing the legislation as they accused the opposition of time wasting and grand-standing.