The proposals announced today by the government for an inquiry into the banking crisis are a sham and a total political humiliation for the Green Party.

The fact that the government has moved at all was only as a result of the Labour Party motion which I tabled calling for a comprehensive Oireachtas driven inquiry into the banking crisis and which is being debated in the House tonight.

However, what has emerged from the Cabinet today is a three card trick designed to keep the process behind closed doors, spin it out almost indefinitely and the exclude from scrutiny the role of the government and particularly the role of the Department of Finance.

It is ludicrous that the new Governor of the Central Bank is now being asked to inquire into the institution he now heads. Furthermore the Commission of Investigation model is a totally unsuitable model to seek the truth of what brought about the banking crisis.

The Green Party assured us that they would insist on a inquiry that it would be open and public, with meaningful Oireachtas involvement. The government proposals today meet none of these criteria. Once again it is game, set and match for Fianna Fail over the Greens.