Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to acknowledge that the Government, in this amendment, is going some way to meet the first amendment put forward by the Labour Party last night, which was to have the scheme laid before the House before the Bill was enacted. We want clearer indications of the game plan, not just to protect the banks, but to protect the long-term strategic interests of the taxpayer and of the real economy in Ireland from the construction industry bubble and from speculation in complex financial instruments. We want the focus to be on protecting the real economy. In two weeks we face a very tough budget, according to indications from Ministers.

The guarantee given has provided stability to the six institutions named. As a consequence, the Irish national debt has a contingent liability of €400 billion, and if Ulster Bank is included, this contingent liability will be pushed up by another €60 billion, and by even more if two other institutions mentioned in the newspapers today are also to be included. We will see the Exchequer returns later today, and they do not seem to be great. When the Government goes to borrow, not just for investment in infrastructure, but for current spending as well due to the projected size of the deficit, how will the Minister price the extra cost of the borrowing that the Government will have to pay as a consequence of the guarantee?

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