Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I will start by referring to what Deputy Noonan has said about the Green Party. He is quite correct. Ethics can be different depending on what side of the ideological debate one is. Sometimes on the one hand all life can be sacred, but the woman still has the right choose on the other. These are ethical decisions that are not made lightly. There are always shades of grey. I would contend that Fine Gael is more on the anti-abortion side and the Labour Party would be more on the clichéd, pro-choice argument. However, there are shades in the ethical investment issue. One cannot accuse someone who is trying to protect the life of the unborn of not having ethics just as one cannot accuse someone who is trying to protect the rights of the mother of not having ethics. Similarly, it is a little disingenuous to give out about the Greens for talking about ethical investment because there are huge investment opportunities here at home that are ethical, will create jobs for people and will sustain our families and communities, which is the most ethical thing one can do. I would agree that just because one has money to invest does not mean one should invest it in weapons of mass destruction, exploitative international oil companies or multinationals who abuse workers and care nothing for human rights. My colleagues, including Deputy Cuffe, who had a major impact in this regard, say we should be careful where this investment goes.

This should not be dealt with lightly as if this is the only contribution the Greens have made because we have made many other contributions. We have taken the tough decisions when it would have been a lot easier to pull out in a populist stunt and say "Hang on a second, we know it was Fianna Fáil which caused this mess", but we did not. In my last contribution on a related issue in the House, I pointed out that because Fine Gael, Labour and the PDs were all dipping into the corporate donations pot, we are collectively responsible for the mess. The responsible thing to do is to stay in government, get on with the job and take the tough decisions, even if it means losing one's seat at the end of it.

I do not want to criticise Deputy Michael Noonan too much because he has proven he is a man of principle. Deputy Noonan stopped Fine Gael taking corporate donations when he was leader of the party. Unfortunately, he got shafted by his party for doing it. The 2002 election campaign might have produced some fantastic pie-splattering photographic moments but, to be honest, it is Fine Gael which still has egg on its face over corporate donations, not Deputy Noonan. Does Deputy Noonan sleep soundly at night? You bet he does, because he put the country first.

Similarly, another Fine Gael former leader, Mr. Alan Dukes, was the author of the Tallaght strategy. He did not get his reward for the Tallaght strategy because he too was shafted by his party. Does he sleep soundly at night? You bet he does, because he put the country first. He did the right thing too.

What we see in more recent times is that people and party leaders are more inclined to choose collective self-interest over the national interest. Outrage has been expressed at measures that would be implemented like a shot if Fine Gael and Labour were in government. Half-hearted offers of co-operation have come belatedly, I will concede, but not without the jibes and always putting elections before the electorate.

Deputy Enda Kenny is a most likeable and capable man. If he ever becomes Taoiseach — I repeat if — he would no doubt grow into the job and his years of Oireachtas experience, coupled with the gravitas of that job, would no doubt maximise his potential. Does Deputy Kenny sleep soundly at night? Devil a bit of it. He dreams vivid dreams, and in those dreams he is already Taoiseach — "I'm Enda. I'm the Taoiseach. I'm the gaffer." He snores like a lion but when he wakes up, the lion fades and disappears. What pops out instead? A mouse — a mouse that is afraid to do the right thing; afraid to put petty party politics aside; afraid to start afresh; afraid to say "No more to corporate donations and the culture that caused this mess". Unfortunately, Deputy Kenny is afraid that if he does the right thing, he might end up like Alan Dukes or Deputy Michael Noonan. History has been kind about Alan Dukes and it will also judge Deputy Noonan kindly. Will it be kind to Deputy Enda Kenny? We will have to wait and see.

Of course, it would be unfair to solely discuss the attributes of the Fine Gael Party in regard to this debate. We know what the Bill is about, namely, putting some of the National Pensions Reserve Fund into recapitalising the banks, which is absolutely necessary. We all know, hands on our hearts, that it might not be enough, a point which has not been disagreed with by the Minister for Finance. However, we must make a start. AIB and Bank of Ireland have given a solemn commitment that the €3.5 billion going to each of them is sufficient. While AIB's latest results suggest it may not be, one puts in what is expected, knowing one might have to put in more.

Even allowing for the 20% or so that was caused by our own avarice, this is a global crisis. Throughout the EU and the western world, if one looks at any country — even Canada is having its problems, although it has levels of corporate governance we should emulate — one will see governments investing in their banking systems left, right and centre. We must do the same.

When one asks Deputy Eamon Gilmore what he will do and what alternatives he will offer, one gets nothing. He is the head of a party full of talent, just like Fine Gael. One need only look at Deputy Joan Burton, who is a formidable contributor in Dáil debates and a formidable expert in her field and, similarly, Deputy Pat Rabbitte. I am very fond of the Labour Party. I live a couple of doors from Deputy Joanna Tuffy and we get on like a house on fire. Unfortunately, however, Labour is a party that has put populism and pragmatism before realism. This is allied with a mind-blowing arrogance that hovers like a stale smell every time Deputy Gilmore opens his mouth.

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