Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I welcome our visitors. I agree in general with the sentiments Mr. Madouros has expressed. The emphasis has to be on stability. If the international financial system identifies a hint of instability in any country then things will fall rapidly and what is a healthy position today could become a very unhealthy position tomorrow. I am minded of the previous financial crisis when things happened very quickly. To those of us on the ground, and Deputy Michael Healy-Rae will remember this as well as I and many others do, the country was booming. It was recognised by some people that we were on the run down but it came perhaps quicker than we thought. We thought we would have a soft landing. Everybody said there would be a soft landing. There are no soft landings in the financial business. It is ruthless. It happens very quickly. There is the ease with which withdrawals are made. The decisions that influence stability around the globe happen in an instant because of technology. Are we still satisfied that we have taken sufficient precautions, such as the rainy day fund? Are we alert to the fact that decisions could be taken elsewhere that could create instability in the financial system around the globe? Are we happy that we can withstand this to a greater extent than ever?