Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

-----through a new approach to dealing with bad or non-performing loans for development land and investment property. The Labour Party proposal does not address that issue and does not wish to address it because it does not suit it ideologically in the context of the coming weeks.

The Deputy is suggesting to this House that the nationalisation of the banks will solve the problem. That is not the situation, the risk to the taxpayer will be increased. We have always said that is a matter of last resort. There is reason we should continue to have market-driven values within the banking system-----

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