I am conscious that we have agreed to conclude this Bill by 12 noon but I want to put a more formal request to the Minister for Finance in relation to the points I made before we adjourned on Tuesday last.
People in business have commented that the dominance of the two major banks which have 80 per cent of market share is squeezing any real sense of competition out of the domestic banking sector. The Minister for Finance has a unique opportunity to bring forward proposals to create a significant third force in the banking sector if we could harness the synergy created by the three banks ACC, ICC, Trustee Savings Bank and the retail section of the post office banking system operating together. I suggest the Minister should publish a Green Paper or a discussion document outlining the need for a third bank in the Irish economy and the need for the existing two main banks to strike up strategic alliances with other continental based banks within the framework of the European Monetary Union. I made these points before, and I will not repeat them as they are on the record of the House. However, I wish to stress that this should happen soon as I do not believe that this should be left exclusively to random market forces.
A combination of direct State intervention as well as allowing tenders from the different interested parties in either the domestic market or elsewhere is the best way to proceed. The Minister should prepare a prospectus of the possible options of a third banking force based on the analysis by me, and others outside the House, and put this to the financial institutions and the markets generally. The Minister could then stand back and see the bids that would come forward.
The credit controllers in the Department would like to pursue a treasury approach and dispose of the assets as quickly as possible. If the Government managed to dispose of all the assets, essentially the three banks, the Trustee Savings Bank, ACC and ICC, the amount realised would be in the region of £100 million to £150 million. Welcome though the £150 million would be, in terms of our overall economic needs, and the need to reduce the debt-GNP ratio it would not make a significant impact, whereas a strong third bank in the Irish economy would strengthen competition between the other two major banks and also encourage linkages with other continental banks in the European Monetary Union market. Our economy needs this and the Minister for Finance should vigorously pursue this option instead of bringing in a technical repackaging of the ACC and ICC banks.