Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I welcome the participation of Members in this debate. I find it incredible that on the resumption of the Dáil after the summer break, there would be no discussion on the economy or the economic circumstances facing Ireland were it not for the tabling by the Fine Gael Party of this Private Members' motion. It is equally incredible that successive Government speakers have followed the classic Fianna Fáil line of blaming someone else without accepting responsibility for one's own actions or, in this case, inaction. Everyone is aware that the implications of global financial turmoil are under discussion. The Fianna Fáil Party in government in Ireland is not responsible for Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns or the American sub-prime mortgage catastrophe. However, it is responsible for dealing with affairs of the nation that are within its own control.

Over the past ten years in particular, Fianna Fáil did not heed any of the warning signs that were put up by both the Fine Gael Party and by reputable international financial indicators. No measure was taken into account by Fianna Fáil in government of what could happen. When the division in the road came, having grown out of an export-led economy, in which trade in goods and services became the fundamental catalyst for development in Ireland, the Fianna Fáil Government turned to the tent in Galway and built its economy on the back of property as the new wealth creator. The Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, might smile but that is the truth, unpalatable as he may find it.

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