Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity of speaking to this important and urgent debate on the announcement by the Minister for Finance on banking. Before I go into the details of the debate it is important to state that some senior bankers misled and lied to politicians in this House. As a result of their actions, they contributed towards making the situation worse. That is my position. This was crime against our people and the taxpayers and an insult to all elected members of this House. It is important that this is said today in this debate. It it is important that it is said on behalf of the 455,000 unemployed people in the country.

We can talk about banking and the huge greed and mistakes which were made all day, but the results of the banks' actions have to be dealt with first. Since the summer the numbers out of work have soared to 455,000, the highest since the live register began in 1967. At the same time the Government has already committed to spending €25 billion on the banking black hole. The Government's plan is not working and that is the reality. We have already seen three deflationary budgets and a fourth is looming. Taking another €3 billion out of the economy will lead to further job losses. Pay and welfare cuts were imposed in last year's budget and the numbers out of work have climbed steadily since. This is the reality for most people on the ground but the Government still needs to wake up to this reality.

We need a plan for jobs and growth. No strategy currently exists to get people back to work or to keep them working and this is a major concern for me. Almost every other EU state has a job protection scheme in place and in some countries, such as Germany, unemployment has already started to fall. The final bill for the bank bail out will rise. The bill for Anglo Irish Bank alone could rise to €35 billion or more. Even conservative voices such as the Financial Times and Barclays bank say our banking plan is lunacy because it places the entire burden on the taxpayer. This is the key issue in this debate today. I am putting forward constructive proposals to try to solve the problem.

We need to prioritise jobs and growth. We cannot cut our way out of this crisis. It is not working and the past two years have proved this. We also need to end the uncertainty which currently exists in this country. I have proposed the idea of a job strategy to assist the unemployed. For example, in my constituency of Dublin North-Central I proposed a plan that every person spend an extra €20 per week. I have targeted this campaign at people over 50 years of age who have a few bob in savings - I understand there is in the region of €75 billion in savings in the country. If such people spent €20 per week extra in their own communities we could create an extra 20,000 jobs in the country. I refer to local businesses, stores, printing companies and things like that in every Deputy's constituency. It is a sensible and logical proposal.

When we are discussing turning the economy around we should listen to the calls from SIPTU, OPEN, the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed and Mental Health Ireland when they refer to the 20,000 jobs in the community employment schemes which provide very valuable services, as Deputy O'Sullivan mentioned in her speech, in communities. I have seen these services on the ground, including educational services, after school projects and services for homeless people, and the projects and people who work in them will be cut in the budget. I ask the Minister to end the madness. We have 20,000 people making a contribution to their communities.

If the Government is serious about tackling the economy it also has to make job creation part of the solution. Job creation equals tax revenue and happy families and people. Think about it; that is the way out of this mess. It is important that we think outside the box, that is, that we consider sectors of Irish society which are already making massive contributions to this country. I refer to the arts sector which already has in the region of 95,649 jobs. I also welcome the fact that there are 5,500 full-time jobs in the audiovisual sector, with more than 560 small and medium sized enterprises operating in the sector. I welcome the contribution made by the arts. This is an angle for job creation in the areas of culture and tourism, and investment in the country is important.

I recently heard that the chief executive Coca Cola said in the US that the brand Ireland was one of the most well-known names there. We should use that creatively to project the vision for this country and it has the potential for job creation. Earlier, I heard the Minister for Finance state the urgent need to reinforce international market confidence in the restoration of our banking system to health and our capacity to take the steps essential to achieving the enduring sustainability of our budgetary position. He also said in his speech that international financial markets have been clamouring for some time for greater certainty and the final cost of repairing the substantial damage wrought by irresponsible and reckless lending practices and systematic failures in corporate governance and risk management. That is the reality and most Deputies in this House would identity those issues.

The Minister also referred to the public anger. Not only is the public angry, it is furious. The people of Donnycarney, Marino, Edenmore, Clontarf, Beaumont, Artane and Drumcondra are furious about the way this situation has evolved and the perception and reality for many people is that the people responsible are getting away with this. We need to identify and deal with this issue in a just and fair way. I strongly believe that Ireland should be a just and equal society. At the moment, there does not seem to be any justice for regular and decent taxpayers and the unemployed people of this country. It is a disgrace and a scandal that people are literally getting away with murder. Equally, it is a disgrace that the Government is not prepared to listen to the sensible proposals of other political parties for dealing with this country's economic crisis.

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