Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It happened on a global basis. It happened in Hong Kong and south east Asia. It was an emerging issue in countries such as Brazil and India, where governments encouraged people to engage in asset acquisition in order to fund the cost of welfare. That is the reality of the matter. I wish we had more of this type of debate on what happened in the Irish context, because it is a reality that needs to be accepted. Yes, it went wrong and crashed down around our heads. I have noticed that the Chairman is pointing at me because I have gotten a bit carried away. I shall focus my comments a bit more. It is important to recognise the global aspects of what we are talking about here and the need for a global response. If we are to go forward then we cannot go back to business as it was in 2008.

I seek the Chairman's indulgence to address two issues. The first is that raised by Dr. Seán Healy on social housing and the other is on the level of unemployment and so on. According to the OECD, even at the height of the Celtic tiger boom we had the second highest number of families with no member in employment of any developed country.