Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The reason for this is the overhang of bad debts. What we are proposing is a creative solution to take out that bad debt and develop clean banks that can begin once more to lend to the economy. If lending is not flowing to the economy, we will not have jobs and we will not have the facility for people to create jobs and develop the economy. Innovative companies need investment in order to develop new technology and so forth. People with ideas need access to money. If we do not deal with the banking issue, we cannot deal with the broader needs of the enterprise sector of the economy.

What is paralysing the situation is the inability of people to face reality, be they bankers or developers, in terms of the overhanging debt and the size of that debt. A vehicle or mechanism is required to deal with that, which is fundamentally what the Minister proposed yesterday in the House. The national asset management agency will work on a commercial mandate and will take a strong line to ensure the taxpayer is protected.

See this speech in context