The legitimacy of the body politic has been undermined once more in this most recent sordid debacle in this country. The diligence and persistence through relevant questions by Deputy Catherine Murphy, in the interests of democracy and the people, has unearthed and exposed another web of the same old suspects, which are the banks and the big businesses intertwined with the political system. It again begs the question of whether we have learned anything from the previous major banking scandals and the subsequent collapse of the economy. Serious concern and alarm has been raised among the public regarding the huge scale of write-down sanctioned by IBRC with a select group of 40 big businesses and a select group of individuals receiving a combined write-off of their debt of thousands of millions of euro which, it seems, could amount to anything up to €1.2 billion. Yet again the taxpayer is shouldering this back-breaking burden. This is in contrast to what is happening at the other end of the scale where tens of thousands of ordinary householders' mortgages are being sold off to vulture capitalists. These particular funds are being sold off by IBRC. These unfortunate householders have no mortgage protection as they are outside the control of the Central Bank. There is rough justice for some who are trying to keep a roof over their heads, which is in contrast to another soft landing for the elite and the preferential treatment for these people. How will the Taoiseach ensure that this commission of investigation does not become another multi-million euro burden on the taxpayer with no definite end to the investigation?

Will the Government impose a timely deadline for the work's completion?

I thank the Deputy. He is aware, obviously, of the fact that Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide cost the taxpayer €34 billion, which was the real burden imposed on hundreds of thousands of people over that period throughout the country, when 300,000 jobs were lost and emigration became a factor in everyday life again. Obviously, with the decisions and the challenges faced up to by the people, we are now in a very different position economically, and we hope that by creating another 40,000 jobs this year and the same next year and in 2017, we will ensure that all of the jobs that were lost are recovered and the State will be approaching full employment.

The Government has restructured the banking system, getting rid of some banks and restructuring others. The Minister met recently with the main banks to discuss the question of a reduction in variable interest rates, which is of interest to hundreds of thousands of people.

Regarding the question that the Deputy raised about the commission of investigation, as I said earlier on, when the House and the Oireachtas sign off on the terms of reference for a commission of investigation, that commission of investigation then becomes the sole responsibility of the member who is conducting its business, and that member will conduct his or her business in the way that he or she sees fit within the context of the general terms of reference. Let me repeat that no Justice in this country is a pawn of any Minister and no Justice is a pawn of any Government.

There might be plenty of pawns of Denis O'Brien over there.

It is not possible to politicise it. Otherwise, it does not work. One cannot give directions or diktats to a sole member who is handed the responsibility of running a commission of investigation in an authoritative, independent and objective way so that questions can be answered and the truth can be known, and that is what Government wishes in this case. So I cannot answer the question as to the person, persons or entities that may well take court cases during the course of the commission of investigation, but there is a period of six months to bring in a final report, and if for whatever reason that does not happen, a report of the work to that point will be brought forward. When we sign off here on the terms of reference, it then becomes a matter of responsibility for the member involved, and I am quite sure that the person who takes up that responsibility will run the commission of investigation in a very effective and competent fashion.

As Deputy Tom Fleming well knows, over the years when we had tribunals, they ran for ten years, for 12 years and for 14 years. This method of having commissions of investigation is far more effective-----

We told the Government that a month ago, but it voted us down.

-----and I have no doubt that this one will meet those rigorous high standards also. It is not a case of setting up a commission of investigation and then telling it how to do its work, when to do its work and what we want out of it. We cannot politicise this, and it is right to keep that distance and that objectivity there. I hope that the commission, when the terms of reference are approved by the Dáil and the Seanad, will be allowed to do its work in the way that we all want to see happen.

We could have been spared this inquiry if Deputy Catherine Murphy's questions had been answered at the outset in a fair and comprehensive manner. Unfortunately, that did not occur. This matter is best reflected in a statement by Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton regarding the beef tribunal: "I think that if the questions that were asked in the Dáil were answered in the way they are answered here, there would be no necessity for this inquiry and a lot of money and time would have been saved". That situation has been replicated in this instance.

A memo from a senior official in the Department of Finance reads: "[E]vents over the past few months have led me to question the effectiveness of the management team in IBRC ... I am concerned that the reputation of the IBRC and by extension the State has been damaged as a result of these events." Interestingly enough, according to a 2012 OECD perception report, Ireland had one of the lowest levels of public trust in the governance of State institutions.

A question, please, Deputy.

According to the statistics, only 26% of Irish people had trust in the Government. It is a revealing figure, given our recent and undistinguished history. That is why there is a need for a robust, forensic inquiry.

I am sorry, Deputy, but we have gone way over time. Could you put your question, please?

It is coming. We will need a forensic inquiry to drill down and reveal the true facts. There is an urgent need to redeem public trust in the reform of post-crash Ireland and to restore our international reputation as being a trustworthy, transparent and fair country in which to set up business. Will the Taoiseach ensure that the investigation will give a breakdown of each individual transaction, the exposure and the types of write-down that were given so as to ensure full transparency?

First of all, I have been a supporter for a very long time of the idea that Dáil questions should be answered as fully and as completely as possible-----

Deputies, please.

I try to do that-----

It is an art form.

Will the Government Deputies not give the Taoiseach a standing ovation?

You are doing a great job standing over there, I can tell you. Remember when you were over here.

Deputy Durkan should be feting the Taoiseach for that.

Deputies, please.

I try to do that with the questions that come into my own Department in so far as that is possible. I remind Deputy Tom Fleming that this Government restructured and reformed the freedom of information system, which allows Deputies to ask questions in respect of information they look for that is not handled by Ministers. There are particular personnel in every Department dealing with that, and I know that many Deputies have been able to get possibly more information, or certainly an extensive volume of information, out of which may come the particular or specific answer that they wish to get. It might be, I suppose, sometimes more appropriate if one were to work backwards or focus the question very precisely. With the volume of material that comes into some Departments, it is not as easy as it might seem.

So it is Deputy Catherine Murphy's fault.

A poor question.

Public figures and politicians the world over have never been in the higher echelons of public trust. I think the bankers were beneath the politicians there for some time. I am not sure where it is now.

The Government is bringing trust down further.

Can I guarantee Deputy Fleming that he is going to get answers to all the questions here? What I want to say to him is that the terms of reference to be debated-----

After the election.

-----and approved by the House will cover all transactions, activities and management decisions that occurred between 21 January 2009, which was the date of nationalisation of IBRC, and 7 February 2013, the date of the appointment of the special liquidators to IBRC, which dealt with particular matters. That will become a matter for the judge in question, Deputy. It is not for anybody in this House to attempt to interfere-----

It is a matter for the terms of reference.

-----in the work of the sole member once the terms of reference have been signed off and approved.

The terms of reference should not be set in cement. We should debate them.

That is what we are doing.

That person will run the business in the way that he or she sees fit, and do a proper, competent, professional-----

What about the fraudulent interest charges before 2009?

-----and independent job. That, Deputy, I hope will deal with all of the issues that arise with regard to assertions and allegations about this person, that person, this entity and that entity so that clarity can be achieved, which is in the public interest and which the Government wants to see arising from this commission of investigation.

What about the fraudulent interest charges before 2009?

Listen to the banker.

That completes Leaders' Questions. We will move on to questions to An Taoiseach.

What of fraudulent deals since 2013?

Deputy Mathews had his chance.

There were fraudulent interest charges from the 1990s.

Deputy Mathews had his chance, but he left.

Leave Deputy Mathews alone.

The Government is limiting us.

Deputy Mathews did not have the courage to stay. He could not stick the pace.

The Minister of State will hear the evidence later.

What is that?

I was not talking to Deputy Shortall.

The Minister of State would stick anything. He would stand over anything. He will have to be prised out of that seat.