SEANAD REPORT:MINISTERIAL ACTION should be taken, if necessary, to deal with the unacceptable continuing pension payments to a former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, Dan Boyle (Greens) said.

Mr Boyle said he held no brief for the individuals who had run that institution into the ground. “I find it inexplicable . . . as to why . . . a former chairman and a former chief executive of that institution continues to receive pension payments from an institution that is now State-owned.”

Speaking in the debate on the Bill to provide for the underpinning of the deposit guarantee scheme, Mr Boyle said if they could not address the pension question now they needed to address it either through ministerial action or new legislation. He was not prejudging any decisions that would be made by others. “But . . . I cannot accept that the payment being made to such individuals can ever be acceptable.”

Minister of State Martin Mansergh said he presumed that the payments were being made on very strong legal advice. He believed the appropriate way forward was to investigate whether people had acted within the law.

Responding to concerns of Fine Gael members Ciarán Cannon and Paschal Donohoe that the guarantee scheme could encourage a revival of irresponsible risk-taking by financial institutions, Dr Mansergh said Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan had the option of introducing a system to act as a deterrent. However, anyone who knew their history would realise that the idea of being able to prevent banks engaging in risky behaviour was “on the utopian side”.

The Bill was passed.

Sharp exchanges between Independents Eoghan Harris and David Norris led to Mr Harris claiming that his Trinity opponent was incontinent, “If I am, you are the perfect pad,” rejoined Mr Norris. Mr Harris had said that Mr Norris was about to go to a press conference at which he would give substance to a claim that a boat had been sunk off Erris Head by a group of masked men. The sinking was said to have happened at the same time as Shell opponents were leaving in kayaks to attack the company’s installation. “If the Senator believes that he would believe anything,” said Mr Harris.