Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

It is not my view of the social economy that is in crisis. The speculator-led economic model, to which the Minister subscribes, is in crisis at home and internationally. Speculative investment with no responsibility is the global contagion to which the Minister referred as some kind of flu. Last night, the Tánaiste spoke about this measure as a new tool in the toolbox. That is the depth of thinking at the top of the Government. Somebody else referred to it as a contagion, somewhere between the Asian flu and bird flu.

The reality is that we have an international financial crisis for certain reasons. I agree with the Green Party that new initiatives are required at UN level, for example. At home, the Government has produced an emergency Bill and is asking us to wave it on. It wants us to keep things as they are, with no additional increment of transparency. Deputies on all sides have spoken about the appearances of representatives of the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank before committees of this House. Where are the Minister's proposals for giving additional disciplinary powers to such bodies? Is it the case that the Minister's proposed scheme does not follow any principle of disclosure? Does the Minister intend to give additional power to the Financial Regulator or the Central Bank to require compliance with the scheme?

See this speech in context