Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today the Government's bank guarantee plan was at an “advanced stage of work” and that he expected it to be finalised at a special meeting of the Cabinet tonight.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Cowen said the terms and conditions were still being worked on by officials but that the government was anxious to have it completed as soon as possible.
He again defended the Government’s decision to act to secure liquidity in the banking sector, insisting the guarantee was designed to provide stability and was “not for gain”.
Mr Cowen also said applications would be considered from the institutions outside the six already named, provided they met the necessary terms and conditions.
But he warned that banks and credit institutions “needed to take account of the new environment in which we now operate”.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny asked Mr Cowen whether he could give reassurances that the bad property debt held by these institutions did not threaten their solvency.
But Mr Cowen declined to comment on the loan book of individual institutions, saying simply the guarantee scheme was designed to protect the interests of the economy and the taxpayer.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore claimed the Government had so far failed to put in place any new initiatives to tackle the downturn in the economy.
Mr Gilmore said: “What people who are losing their jobs are asking is, are they likely to get work again.”
Mr Cowen acknowledged there was a wide downturn in the world economy and that this was hitting the Irish economy hard.
“We are continuing to provide investment in the economy. We’re continuing with the public capital programme.
“We’ll do all we can within the resources of the state. We are trying to identify companies that can grow jobs. And get the message out that Ireland is open for business,” he said.