16 October 1998

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Ó Caoláin canvasses in Cork

Call for State banking sector to be established

Canvassing in the Cork South Central by-election for his party's candidate Henry Cremin, Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has called for the establishment of a strong State banking sector. He said that in light of the AIB tax scandal and the previous NIB affair the public had lost trust in commerical banking, the tax system and the system of financial regulation.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said:

``The message of recent scandals is clearly that white-collar crime pays. When not actually rewarding corruption through the likes of the passports-for-sale scheme and the tax amnesties, successive governments and their agencies have turned a blind eye to powerful financial institutions and individuals who are ripping off ordinary taxpayers.

``There is a crying need now for the establishment of a strong and democratically accountable State banking sector which investors can trust and whose profits would be used for public benefit such as investment in health and education.''

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