Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I refer to the Taoiseach's peevishness during Taoiseach's Questions and later during Leaders' Questions in which he seemed very out of sorts. Presumably, this was the result of meeting voters in various constituencies. This will go down in Irish history as the crony capitalism period that destroyed much of the prosperity achieved during the Celtic tiger years. Whether the Taoiseach likes it, the phrase "crony capitalism" which was coined by the Financial Times was used specifically by Dr. Bacon in his proposals. One argument he has made is that NAMA might help Fianna Fáil, I presume, to come to grips with its builder and banker friends. The unholy trinity of bankers, builders and Fianna Fáil has brought the economy to this point.

I am disappointed the Minister for Finance is possibly leaving. It is difficult for me and Deputy Bruton to have any meaningful time in the Dáil with the Minister, but it is important that we do so, particularly on an issue as fundamental as this to the future of the country, our children and grandchildren. We are discussing the proposal for NAMA to take assets with a reduced book value of €50 billion. That is bigger than any hedge fund that would operate out of Ireland. As has been pointed out, NAMA's assets will amount to an extraordinary figure in the context of Irish history.

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