We also welcome Mr. Esmond Birnie.

Today the anticipated banking inquiry report will be launched and I wish to be afforded a brief moment to say a few words about it. We will have the opportunity tomorrow evening to debate the outcome of the report, but I wish to say I was glad to have the opportunity to be involved in it and work with Senators Susan O'Keeffe, Michael D'Arcy and Sean D. Barrett. I thank specifically my own colleagues, Senators Paul Bradford and David Norris, for their support for my nomination to participate in the inquiry. At the time - not to open old wounds - we had an unseemly issue in the House where there was an attempt to have a different membership of the committee from that determined by the committee of selection. In the past two years or so the people on the inquiry have worked very hard in trying to produce today's report, which, it must be said, was done against a backdrop of an Act that was totally inadequate. I hope the Houses and the next Administration, in particular, will take on board the many recommendations of the report in the context of what needs to be done to ensure no inquiry is hampered in the way that this one has been over the course of the past few years in terms of its ability to make findings, its investigative abilities and so on.

It is worth noting that no Member of either House wore his or her political jersey in the inquiry. However, from a Fianna Fáil perspective, in advance of the inquiry, we called for it to be established in the manner of the Leveson inquiry in the United Kingdom, free from the electoral cycle, which, as we all know, ultimately played a part in the somewhat rushed finish to the banking inquiry's work. Notwithstanding all of the difficulties relating to the process, the trials going on elsewhere which limited the capacity of the inquiry to carry out its investigative work and the restrictions of the Act itself-----

It is proposed to have a debate on this issue tomorrow and the report of the inquiry has not yet been published.

Yes; nevertheless, it is a point that I wish to make and it is worth doing so today.

Some €6 million of the people's money has been spent and regardless of when the election is held, the Seanad should debate the issue of the inadequacies of the Act and, in particular, the process which the inquiry followed during its earlier stages. I have had concerns about the influence of external bodies on the inquiry process, the way in which a whistleblower's protected disclosure was dealt with and how the Houses of the Oireachtas Service then sought to throw that whistleblower under a bus. That in itself requires an inquiry and investigation.

That is not in order.

Notwithstanding all of that, I welcome the publication of the report this afternoon. It forms a reasonable body of work that reflects the public hearings, notwithstanding the imperfections I have outlined. Senators will have the opportunity to outline their views in tomorrow evening's debate.

Between now and the Seanad election I believe the House could usefully investigate the second issue I mentioned in connection with the process, the whistleblower, the protected disclosure and the influence of external bodies in earlier stages.

Like all of us, I am sure, I also look forward to the publication today of the report of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. I know that we will have an opportunity to debate it tomorrow. Many colleagues will be looking at the process of conducting the inquiry and recommendations that apparently will be in the report as to how the legislation could be improved to ensure the processes are more efficient and streamlined. I commend the four Senators on the committee of inquiry, with their colleagues in the Dáil, for all their hard work. Preliminary reports indicate that it is very critical of the ECB, the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank. We will have time to debate that tomorrow.

I hope we will debate not only what led to this banking crash, but also mechanisms to ensure that a crash of this sort does not happen again, looking in particular at the linkage between regulatory law and criminal law. Perhaps not enough attention is paid to that issue. I am conscious that the Law Reform Commission is currently seeking submissions on the issue with a view to the possibility of introducing new criminal offences, such as that introduced in the United Kingdom in 2013, the offence of recklessness leading to a decision causing a bank to fail, and such as the practice of deferred prosecution agreements in the United States whereby co-operation of individuals working in banking is sought and obtained in return for an agreement to defer any prosecution.

We also need to consider the possible prosecution of a crime of financial treason, which was suggested by some Labour Party colleagues at the time of the crash. This issue should be explored with the text and recommendations of the banking inquiry report.

I remind colleagues that Senator Máiría Cahill is hosting an event in Buswell's Hotel at 1 p.m. today to which all are invited. It is a briefing by three organisations working on the front line in supporting victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. They are the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, One in Four and Women's Aid.

I commend Senator Catherine Noone who yesterday on the Commencement raised the issue of a no-fry zone. This is an issue that is getting a great deal of support, particularly from parents. It seeks new planning regulations to ensure chip shops cannot be located within 500 m of a school. This is part of a drive for healthier living and healthier eating among children in order to tackle the very worrying levels of obesity. I commend the Senator for raising the issue and lend my support to the many parents' groups supporting the no-fry zone campaign.

Owing to the publication of the report of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, I am yielding to my colleague, Senator Sean D. Barrett.

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming Esmond Birnie, a former MLA for South Belfast. On the day when we are looking forward to the publication of the report of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, it is interesting that the advice of Mr. Birnie was that the design faults of the euro made it a currency that he advised the authorities in Northern Ireland not to join. It is purely coincidental that he is here today, but his words will have a certain resonance.

As Senator Marc MacSharry said, all the members of the committee of inquiry co-operated. I thank Members for the nominations the House gave to the four of us. The Seanad was well represented. We dealt with widespread institutional failure in Dublin, Brussels and Frankfurt. The final witness we had was the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, who said he was warned that burden sharing would result in a bomb going off in Dublin.

Would the banks do the same all over again? I believe that concern is inherent in what Senator Ivana Bacik said. The kind of regulation of banks that the new Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Philip Lane, explained to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform yesterday will be very important in the years ahead. I fear that without a strong line being held by Professor Lane, the banks would do exactly the same all over again and I worry about the newspaper property supplements getting bigger. There must be other ways for the economy to prosper than by buying and selling each other's houses.

I express condolence to the family of Alex Ryan from Millstreet. He was the young man who died in Cork last week owing to drugs being present at a party. Yesterday the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Deputy Paschal Donohoe, was in the House to deal with anti-drugs legislation pertaining to transport. We must always be vigilant in that regard and support measures to protect young people. In expressing our condolences to his family, I praise their generosity. Four other people will be alive because of their generosity in donating their son's organs for transplant.

I join colleagues in complimenting Members of this House who participated so actively and played such a major role in the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. The publication of its report today is to be welcomed. As Senator Sean D. Barrett said, the report has highlighted widespread institutional failures, both internally and externally. I hope the many recommendations of the report will be implemented, resulting in a much more robust banking sector that will serve the State well. I compliment everyone involved in bringing the report to fruition, albeit with its shortcomings as a result of time constraints.

I welcome yesterday's announcement of the Government's commitment to investment in public nursing homes. A total of 90 facilities will be upgraded and refurbished in the next five years. It is probably the most comprehensive programme of investment in public nursing homes in the history of the State. The plan provides for the replacement of 33 existing facilities and the refurbishment or extension of 57 others. The programme of investment will deliver 215 additional beds in centres being built or refurbished. The 90 facilities between them will have 4,723 beds.

Of some that were in the news in recent times, I particularly welcome that the future of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon has been secured as a result of the investment commitment. I very much welcome the investment in the community nursing unit in Tuam, following lobbying by the people in east County Galway. It is evidence that the Government intends to bring all the facilities up to HIQA standards by 2021 during the lifetime of the current capital investment programme. We should support the programme and welcome it as a very positive development.