James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill and am glad of the opportunity to contribute to the debate. As previous speakers have said, there are serious concerns that the economy is possibly not as strong as it was. There will clearly be a reduction in stamp duty intake and VAT returns, so we will have to look long and hard at how we address the shortfall.

If responsibility and credibility are not evident at the top they cannot percolate down to Ministers, the Civil Service and our public services generally. Where will the management leadership come from? How many public servants have lost their jobs because of incompetence or a refusal to do particular work? A case in point is PPARS, which cost €180 million at least — we think it cost that figure but we cannot get absolute clarity on the matter. That was the level of expenditure, yet it turned out to be a financial disaster. Was anybody held to be responsible or culpable, and did anyone lose their job as a result? If that level of taxpayers' money can be wasted and not a single person is found to be accountable or responsible we have a serious problem. Why did the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, refuse to take any responsibility for the scandal involving €2 billion in nursing home charges? When nobody takes responsibility at the top, the effects percolate down through the system.

Worries have now arisen about sub-prime lending practices. Meanwhile, banks are repackaging high-risks mixed with good risks and selling them on to other banks, which sell them in turn to other banks. Therefore, nobody is quite sure what they are buying, what they are getting or what the ultimate liability will be. Clearly, this area must be regulated.

My attention has been drawn to the issue of the Financial Regulator. In France, 12,000 public servants are working in the field of financial services regulation, compared to 1,800 in the United Kingdom where they seem to manage their business. Who is in charge and who will take control and be responsible for the various financial scandals in our public service? I do not wish to point a finger in any direction but there is a significant haemorrhage of funds. When we had plenty of money people could shrug this off but in the climate of cutbacks this is no longer acceptable.

Credit unions have been a strong source of support to communities, helping people manage their money and save for relatively small items such as a holiday or a car yet they are prevented from entering the mortgage market. This Bill should be amended to allow for regulations to be put in place to enable the credit unions enter this area of activity. They have the interest of the consumer at heart, being not-for-profit organisations.

People remain concerned about how financial institutions offer life assurance with mortgages making customers feel that if they do not accept this assurance the mortgage may not come through, or that problems will arise that they might not otherwise have anticipated. This area needs to be more closely regulated.

Inflation has risen excessively in all the areas that the Government controls, at a rate of 5%. This affects ESB and gas rates which makes business uncompetitive. Prices in areas over which the Government has no control, such as imports, are competitive and the inflation rate is much lower.

This morning on the Order of Business, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance said in response to the decision not to open a plant in Cork with 1,100 jobs, that it was made for commercial reasons and had nothing to do with competitiveness. Is this more gobbledygook? Has the Government become infected with this line? One can make a commercial decision only on the basis of competition and competitiveness, wages and costs. People vote with their feet. Business men are hard-nosed and know where they can make greater profit, where costs are higher or lower. It beggars belief that the Minister for Finance could tell this House that a commercial decision was made without regard to competitiveness.

People in Government agencies seem to be losing a sense of responsibility and nobody wants to take control. The Health Service Executive is a case in point.

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