Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute briefly to this debate and I welcome the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House. I support my colleague, Deputy Varadkar's, call for a separation of the debate on the economy from that on the banking sector. It is not all about freeing up the banks to provide credit and get liquidity moving. There are many people with business ideas, people who want a reason to get out of bed in the morning. They do not need money; they simply need to get past the regulations and bureaucracy that exist. In my own county, for example, 28 commercial fishermen who had planned to go fishing this summer on Lough Foyle are not permitted to do so. That is a question of regulation and has nothing to do with banking.

We need a serious debate on the smart economy to which the Minister, Deputy Ryan, referred tonight. I accept that we need a smart economy and a well regulated IFSC centre. We have a great smart economy in Donegal where Primerica, a very successful American company employing computer graduates, is thriving. However, the reality is that a smart economy on its own will not get us out of this recession. There are people previously employed in the indigenous sector, including in manufacturing and so on, who do not have the skills necessary to participate in the smart economy.

We must have a debate that is founded in reality. It was completely disingenuous for Government Deputies to claim last week that the recession is over and everything is fine.

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