Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government is to borrow €18 billion this year, or €4,500 for every man, woman and child in the State. This is substantial borrowing. If we do not deal with these issues, we will saddle the generations to come with considerable debt. Every responsible political party in the Dáil would certainly not want this to occur. Unfortunately, some parties have not rejected the approach that would allow it to happen.

I want to refer to the banks issue to which many references have been made. Last year the Government gave a guarantee to all depositors in the Irish banking institutions. We received support from some political parties. Members on the other side of the House are now crying that there is not enough liquidity in the market or credit available to small businesses. In this country's hour of need, the Labour Party sat on its hands. During the effort to ensure we could provide some——

See this speech in context