Who paid the interest? Was it the other organ of the State?

It is an Exchequer note, which means it is the other organ of the State. It makes a mockery of it.

This question is in relation to the sale of the State's shares in the banking sector. Will the Minister outline to the House the rationale he had for selling the shares? I acknowledge that parties are entitled to different ideological positions. Permanent TSB was never a strategic bank. I would rather have held the ownership of AIB within the State, but Permanent TSB has the potential to be a third force in banking in the State. Will the Minister outline the rationale and also the safeguards that are in place to pr…

I did not think we would reach it.

I appreciate that.

The Minister mentioned the policy objective to return the banks to private ownership. I mentioned earlier that the State should have retained its position as a majority shareholder in AIB. It is not unique, as I am sure the Minister knows, for countries across Europe to be the majority shareholder or a significant shareholder in significant banks. It happens right across Europe, including in France and Germany. Many western European countries have that model, so the idea of the State having a share or a majority sh…

The Minister is aware that a number of taxation and levy measures flowed from the fact that the State rescued these banks at a time when they were literally bankrupt and bankrupted the State with their activities. The Government has already overturned some of those, for example, the salary caps within banks. There is a prohibition on bonuses or at least there is an excess charge that applies in terms of a 45% additional USC charge on any bonuses that are paid out above a certain limit. There are other restrictions …

Before I turn to energy costs, I welcome the release this morning of Irish citizens who were illegally detained on the Gaza aid flotilla. Their illegal detention and treatment by Israeli forces was disgraceful, as were the actions and rhetoric of Israeli Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. They were utterly unacceptable and completely sickening. If the Minister's comments this morning, that the time for words has passed and now it is time for action, are to mean anything, what we need is more than progress on the occupied t…

Ag buaic na ghéarchéime costais fuinnimh, tá €178 milliún á choinneáil ag an Rialtas ar leataobh. Bailíodh an t-airgead seo ó chomhlachtaí fuinnimh agus bhí sé i gceist é seo a thabhairt do ghnáthdhaoine le linn na géarchéime costais maireachtála. Ba é sin an cuspóir iomlán leis an scéim seo agus bhí sé i gceist cuidiú éigeandála tapa a chur ar fáil do theaghlaigh a bhí faoi bhrú ollmhór de bharr praghsanna leictreachais a bhí ag dul i méid go géar agus do dhaoine a bhí ag titim i riaráistí agus i bhfiacha. Ach ní …

That is not true.

We will be writing to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. Next week the decks should be cleared and we should pass the occupied territories Bill. We should not be talking about progress. There should be no more delays. We need action. This has been going on for years. In terms of the cost of energy, the Minister is missing the point and is trying to dress it up in a way that supports the Government's narrative but the fundamental facts remained unchanged. While families are struggling to keep the lights on, the Governm…

What about this fund?

What about the fund?

When is the Government going to use the fund?

Does the Minister know that there is money in the fund?

Does the Minister's Government know?

Does the Government know that the money is sitting in the fund? Does it actually know that millions of euro is sitting there that should be in the pockets of workers?

At a time ordinary workers and families are counting every euro, the Government continues to be a serial waster of public money. There is the €127,000 designer bike shed at the Kerry hospital, a bike shed that is actually letting water in - you could not make it up. Hot on the heels of that, we now discover that €50 million of taxpayers’ money has effectively been torched on a failed IT system for Irish Rail. That is €50 million gone. While the Government burns through public money, ordinary people are being stretc…

It is €50 million.

Come on. There was €50 million of waste.