Perhaps I could be allowed to make the Dáil a Deputy Reilly free zone for the next few minutes to the relief perhaps of some members of the Government. That issue has tended to overshadow an equally important issue which happened three days ago and one day ago. Three days ago AIB bondholders were paid €1 billion and one day ago AIB mortgage holders were charged another 0.5% on their mortgage if they have a standard variable rate. Those mortgage holders, the borrowers, who are affected by this do not miss the connection and they see their money and the extra payments they are making as a direct payment going to the bondholders.

The Tánaiste will be aware, because it has been well publicised, that those with a not unusual mortgage now of up to €300,000 will pay an extra €1,080 per annum as a result of this 0.5% rise. I do not know if he realises how many of these people simply will not be able to pay that rise - how many of these people he is going to be asking to pay more money and more taxes on the same properties in the forthcoming budget.

We are now reaching a situation where middle Ireland simply cannot pay what the Government is asking it to pay. I ask the Tánaiste to please not come back to me and say this is not a Government matter. I would agree with him if he were to say this has arisen because the banks, particularly AIB, have been allowed to go walkabout. There is a kind of declaration of independence by AIB at the moment where it is taking its own decisions and crucifying its mortgage holders. In the meantime the Government, which owns nearly 100% of the bank and has supposedly two public interest directors on its board, is washing its hands of a huge problem where it can exercise a serious level of control. Is it Government policy that it contributes to and helps the increasing problem of the crippling mortgage debt we are now facing by allowing this bank, which it effectively fully owns, to add to the debt by putting up mortgages for those who cannot afford it?

The issue of mortgages, mortgage arrears and the difficulties people have in meeting their mortgage commitments is very much a top priority for the Government. That is why, as the Deputy will know, we brought forward the personal insolvency legislation, Report Stage of which is due to be taken in the House shortly.

It is why we have put in place a range of measures to support people in mortgage difficulty and to ensure people do not lose their homes in this financial crisis.

This Government, unlike its predecessor, has had regular engagement with the banks about a range of issues, including their obligation to lend to business, what they are doing about new mortgages and what they are doing to deal with the problem of mortgage arrears. We inherited the banking crisis and the decisions made by the previous Government and this is why we have worked to seek agreement at EU level on the separation of bank debt from sovereign debt and why we are insisting that that agreement be implemented in full and that the huge burden placed on the back of taxpayers as a result of the banking collapse is lifted.

With regard to commercial decisions made by AIB, the Deputy would be the first to criticise the Government if it sought to engage in hands on decision-making in the banks but, as far as mortgage holders are concerned, the Government is firmly on the side of people who are having difficulty meeting their mortgage payments and that is why we have taken the steps we have taken and will continue to do so.

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply but I would like to correct him. I would be the first to say that the Government should intervene on a day-to-day basis on decisions of this sort. The Government owns it and it has two directors on the bank's board. I do not know what they are there for if they are not there to have an input into policy decisions. AIB has a disgraceful record as regards mortgages and it has brought the country to its knees. The people who were there then are still there now. Appointments of the old cronies are still being made to the board and the old people are resurfacing. The Government should ring up the bank to say: "It is not Government policy. We do not want a 0.5% increase in mortgage interests rates for these people and we forbid you to do it." This increase is obviously part of Government policy. It is rather like a tax because the Government is asking the people who are being charged an additional 0.5% to support a State asset which is losing money. It is equivalent to a tax and I suggest the Tánaiste should intervene and say there will be no more interest rate rises at this stage by giving instructions to the directors who are there at his beck and call. I do not know what they do.

What proportion of the money AIB will take in through this increase will go to the bank? Is the Tánaiste aware that a large number of the bank's mortgages have been securitised and sold off in bundles to other institutions outside this jurisdiction? Much of this money will not even go to the AIB or the Exchequer. It will go outside the country because the mortgages have been securitised. I do not expect the Tánaiste to give a specific answer to that now but I would like to know what proportion of the money will go to AIB.

I do not propose to take advice from the Deputy about how the banks should be run because I recall the advice he gave the previous Government when he said it should make Sean FitzPatrick the governor of the Bank of Ireland.

Here we go again. That is the Taoiseach's line.

That is an old one.

Deputy Ross does not have a particularly good track record on this. I will also not come into the House to defend the practices of banks, now or in the past. What the Government is doing in regard to our banking system is to ensure, first, we have a banking system that is fit for purpose for our economy. It is a work in progress and there are a number of dimensions to it, one of which is resolving the issue of the separation of the debts associated with banks and the State. This work is a priority for the Government. Second, we want to ensure our banks serve our economy and our people, and this is why we have a continuing and regular dialogue with them about that. Third, we want to ensure the homes of people who are paying their mortgage are not at risk, and that is why we are putting in place the personal insolvency legislation, the support and advice system and a range of housing supports through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The interest of mortgage holders and their needs is very much at the front of the approach the Government is taking with our banks. It is a work in progress.

Is there a Labour Party member on the bank's board?

Dick Spring.

It is difficult work but it is work in which we will succeed.

The Tánaiste is becoming more like the Taoiseach every day as he manages to avoid answering questions.

I am answering them but the Deputy does not like the answers.