SINN FÉIN is unlikely to oppose the Government's Bill, party economy spokesman Arthur Morgan told the Dáil last night.
He said that the legislation was about more than the banks: it was about offering security to ordinary citizens, investors and Irish businesses. This, in turn, meant jobs.
"The Bill is very vague in the detail relating to the terms and conditions of the deal with the banks," said Mr Morgan.
"It does not mention anything about levies on the banks or bankers foregoing their annual bonuses and nothing about more transparent and better regulated banking." He added that rushed legislation was always bad legislation, even when taking into account the sensitivities of the financial markets.
Mr Morgan said they needed to know what assurance would be given to ordinary people, who had lost their jobs in the construction sector, people who were mortgaged to the hilt and were now facing negative equity in their homes, people who risked losing their homes and people who did not earn bonuses during the boom years.
"This guarantee will mean nothing to people currently embroiled in court hearings about mortgage defaults," Mr Morgan added.
He said it was imperative that the Government offered ordinary people in debt to the banks the same level of security as the banks had been offered. "So far, no bank has moved on a major Irish developer to recoup loans,'' he said.
"But homes continue to be repossessed. Along with this guarantee, there must be an immediate moratorium on home repossessions," Mr Morgan said.