The facts are very clear and on the table for the people. As many people went to bed last night they were worried about the emergency legislation being rushed through the Dáil and this House and its impact on them and their families. Yesterday was a day of high drama. It was also a day of chaos and farce because public representatives learned from Twitter and social media what was happening, not from the Government.

We have learned to our cost, inside and outside this House, not to celebrate so-called deals presented to us by the Government on banking debt. It is not so long ago that the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance returned here after a summit last June and hailed what they described as a game changer where banking debt was to be separated from sovereign debt. That is what we were told.

They have gone back and told no one.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Yesterday all stages of legislation were rushed through the House in two hours and without an amendment being tabled by a Senator.

We heard it all last night.

It was done in order that €31 billion of toxic banking debt would become sovereign debt and it is now to become the debt of the people of this country. Senator Hayden says we cannot say the debt will be a burden on our children. What happened here last night was akin to somebody taking out a mortgage to pay their credit card. That is what happened.

We are asking not just this generation but the next generation of young people to pay back that debt.

That is an exaggeration.

What we needed and what we should have got is what the Tánaiste said we had when he returned last June, namely a complete separation of banking debt from sovereign debt. Anything short of that is absolute fudge.

I urge the Senator to hold his whist a while.

It should not and cannot be accepted or celebrated by the people.

There are transition year students seated in the Visitors Gallery and they can understand the economics of the deal much easier than Senator Cullinane and the Sinn Féin Party. It is quite obvious. He likened the deal to a credit card loan being replaced by a mortgage. That would be good business if we could do that because the interest rate on credit cards ranges between 18% and 20%. It would be a good deal if one got a mortgage at 3%.

Not over 40 years.

One would still have a year to pay back a credit card.

That is a weak argument and the Senator is on shaky ground.

The difference is that the people would still pay it back. The Sinn Féin attitude is to pay it back for a month and then give two fingers to the mortgage company. That is how the party would deal with the debt; it would not pay anyone, but the consequences would be severe.

It is not our debt. The debt does not come from the people.

It is quite simple. People in business will understand and I have been in business. The people who are doing business are finding it extremely tough. What if I or any business person went into a local bank and asked for €100,000 capital to develop or maintain a business and the bank agreed? It would say one did not have to repay the capital amount for 40 years but would charge 3% in interest per year, which would amount to €3,000, over the length of the mortgage.

The Senator can make that point during the debate. Does he support the call for a debate?

Yes. I want to clarify a point for Senator Cullinane because he does not understand. Any business person would grab that deal on €100,000 because he or she would not have to pay it back for 40 years and could maintain a business with €3,000. The banks are offering €100,000 over five years. That means it would cost €100,000, plus €6,000 per year in interest and could cost €140,000 in total.

Does it all make perfect sense?

It makes perfect sense. Sinn Féin does not do perfect sense.

We make perfect sense.

It just does not understand the deal.

Senator Harte is over time.

Shakespeare said he could give an explanation but could not give an understanding.