Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

At the beginning of the session the Ceann Comhairle drew attention to a letter he had received from the Taoiseach asking him to reconvene the Dáil today. However, the Dáil should have been in session today and this week. We have serious business to deal with on behalf of the people. Since the Dáil last met, we have had the worst Exchequer returns we have ever seen. We have seen a continuing rise in unemployment, with 1,900 people told they are to lose their jobs in Limerick and others told yesterday they will lose their jobs in Galway, and a continuing problem with confidence in our economy and in our banking system. Even if there were no proposal to nationalise a bank which required the reconvening of the Dáil today, the Dáil should have been back in session.

The Labour Party has tabled a number of amendments to the proposed business today, the effect of which would be that this Dáil would continue to sit this week as it would any week. In the current economic climate and the current banking situation, with the problems we are now facing, and given the concern the people of this country have for their jobs, their businesses and their futures, the idea that the Dáil should come back for a couple of hours in the afternoon to deal with a major proposal regarding the nationalisation of a bank is not acceptable. The Government's proposal in that regard is out of touch with reality.

I agree with Deputy Kenny that the priority must be to restore confidence to the Irish banking system and to the economy. That confidence is badly damaged. We can see this in the markets, for example, with what is happening to bank shares. The way we do our business here will have a major impact in terms of restoring confidence. It will not restore confidence in the Irish banking system and in the economy to rush through legislation dealing with an important issue such as this. We know from past experience — it has happened over and over again — that when one rushes legislation one often gets it wrong.

The proposal is to deal with a Bill containing 39 sections in a time which allows less than four minutes' discussion on each section. This is a major decision. The implications of what is being done here and what is happening beyond this House are huge. If a bank goes down, it will cost the taxpayer, because the guarantee will take effect. If a bank has to be recapitalised, it will cost the taxpayer because that it where the money is going to come from and if a bank is nationalised, it will cost the taxpayer because of the implications contained therein. This is quite apart from the importance of what the banks do for business, for households and for the running of this country.

The Government has on previous occasions come in here, when it wanted to rush legislation through the House, and suggested debating a proposal for a few hours, taking all sections by a particular time and imposing a guillotine, and that would be the end of the story. This legislation is far too important and serious, and there is far too much riding on this. As regards the letter which the Taoiseach sent me and Deputy Kenny yesterday, the contents of which were then spun by spokespersons for the Taoiseach yesterday evening, the Labour Party needs no lecture or pious homily from the Taoiseach about responsibility on the subject of banking and the economy.

The Labour Party has been measured, as indeed has all the Opposition, in what we have said about the state of banking and the state of the economy over the past number of months and we stand ready, as always, to be constructive in dealing with any proposal that is brought before the House to deal with problems in banking or in any other area of the economy. However, one cannot be very constructive if the time allowed for the consideration of the Bill is as short as is proposed here. This is too serious for the kind of short, rushed approach the Government intends to take to today's business. The House should continue to sit later tonight. Deputy Kenny has proposed sitting until midnight and my amendment proposes sitting until 10.30 p.m. I also believe it should continue to sit as normal throughout this week and take the time that is necessary.

The proposal to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank was announced by the Government last Thursday. It has taken from Thursday to Tuesday to reconvene the Dáil. The Bill to nationalise the bank was not published until last night and I do not see any reason it cannot be subjected to a good, normal debate here in the House where the implications can be teased out. We are here to represent the taxpayer who will end up having to pay the bill if this goes all wrong.

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