Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach was dragged, very reluctantly, towards taking action in respect of stamp duty. When he finally took such action, it was too little too late. If the Taoiseach is stating that he knew in advance that mortgage interest relief would have to be available in abundance through the Department of Social and Family Affairs, this makes the reply he has just given even worse. He was advised by national and international experts that house prices in this country were grossly over-inflated. He stated in September 2007 that the economy was stronger than at any previous point in history. In April of this year, he said he was not concerned with regard to the slowdown in the construction sector.

The Taoiseach now appears to be expressing helplessness and stating that we are not immune to international developments. Such developments are not responsible for the highest increases in the cost of living in any of the eurozone countries since 2001 or the highest increase in unemployment among European Union states. Ireland has been steadily losing its market export share since 2001. These developments were not caused by international events and the Taoiseach served as Minister for Finance when they came about.

The Taoiseach previously stated that we should engage in some straight talking on these matters. Straight talking was the mark of the Deputy Cowen of old when he occupied the seat to his left in which the Minister of Health and Children is sitting. What is the position? Does the Taoiseach accept responsibility for the situation where 100,000 young people, single and couples, face the terrifying prospect that the value of their houses and pensions are deteriorating? People's mortgages are now greater in value than the houses in which they live. They are the mortgaged poor and have been made such by what was a phoney economy.

The Taoiseach holds responsibility in respect of this matter because he led the economy to which I refer. As Minister for Finance, he introduced successive budgets which were reckless in nature and which gave rise to inordinate levels of public spending. The banks lent money, left, right and centre, and it was a case of "easy come, easy go" in the economy because it made people cheerful and helped win votes.

Does the Taoiseach accept that the position in which we currently find ourselves was compounded by the actions he took when Minister for Finance? The people to whom I refer are approaching Deputies on all sides of the House to voice their concerns regarding their mortgages and the threat of unemployment and the cuts in front-line services. The problems to which I refer were created on foot of the construction of a phoney platform designed to get the Taoiseach's party through another election on the basis that people would assume that all was rosy in the garden when, in fact, that was not the case.

Will the Taoiseach see to it that the Ministry for Finance will not again become a tool used to encourage people or give them false hope, as was the case when it was claimed that the construction economy was built on a sound platform? He was responsible for the economy for the past three years and he will now be obliged to suffer the consequences. At least 100,000 people are going to find themselves in dire straits as a result of the actions he took when he served as Minister for Finance.

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