Senator Bacik speaking on the Airline Industry and Restructuring

Order of Business

Senator Ivana Bacik: I support the comment of Senator Norris in support of those facing pension cuts in the restructuring of Aer Lingus. What is happening is appalling and we need a debate on the airline industry. I would like to inform Senator Norris that in page three of today's The Irish Times there is a report about a company that is allowing people to print off boarding passes for Ryanair for less than €1, thereby getting around the new €100 charge.

More seriously, I would like to ask the Leader for a broader debate on banking. Last night's debate on NAMA became, essentially, a debate about bank structuring. The Minister responded to the Labour Party argument for temporary nationalisation and also responded to the argument made by Senator Ross for the same thing. It seems that 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Senator Ross has embraced socialism. Perhaps he is the missing socialist mentioned by Deputy Bertie Ahern some years ago in the Dail.

I was delighted the argument about nationalisation was addressed. It is important we have further debate on that issue. Like Senator Hannigan, I welcome the statement made by the Irish Banking Federation today. However, I would like to raise a concern about banking culture where an issue arising is similar to the issue with regard to Aer Lingus. This concerns Ulster Bank which has been engaged in restructuring. As Senators will know, Ulster Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland. It has 135 branches in the Republic and employs 6,000 people on this island. The bank is currently trying to get staff to sign new contracts as part of a restructuring process. The IBOA has rightly raised the danger that this restructuring will fashion workplace culture, where low pay and low pension entitlements become the order of the day, thereby forcing employees to engage in aggressive commission hunting. This is exactly the sort of culture that has led us to the situation we are in today. We need a debate on bank structuring and culture where we can address the difficulty that arises when a company like Ulster Bank seeks to perpetuate the unsustainable and discredited banking model that has caused the collapse of the financial sector.