Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

deeply concerned at the severe contraction currently taking place in the Irish economy, which is expected to be the worst in any developed country since the 1930s and the severe impact that the crisis in Ireland's banking system is having on the real economy, by restricting credit to viable businesses, which has contributed to the loss of almost 200,000 jobs in the past year;

determined to restore the flow of credit to Irish Business, to protect employment, to restore Ireland's financial reputation abroad, and to accelerate the recovery of the Irish economy;

noting the likely scale of losses that will be incurred by the Exchequer arising from the mismanagement by the Fianna Fáil led Government of the banking crisis, and the enormous risks to the Exchequer posed by the plan to purchase bad loans from the banks at undetermined prices; and

believes that a rapid resolution of the banking crisis, at minimum expense to the Exchequer, is in Ireland's vital national interest;

therefore calls on the Government to:

— bring the institutions covered by the Bank Guarantee Scheme into temporary public ownership, as the least expensive, and most effective means of dealing with the banking crisis;

— establish a Banking Commission made up of persons from Ireland and abroad of the highest reputation, to oversee the appointment of the boards and senior management of the banks, and to approve their business plans;

— replace the present boards and senior executives of these institutions, under the supervision of this Banking Commission as a means of beginning to restore Ireland's reputation abroad;

— ensure that the banks operate on an independent basis, under commercial mandate while under public ownership;

— establish a trust or other mechanism which would give shareholders the option of retaining an interest in the bank, which would be translated into shares in the bank when it is returned to private ownership, the value of which would be set in relation to the true value of the banks at present and the cost to the State of dealing with the bad debts during the period of public ownership; and

— set out a policy and mechanism for ensuring the continued presence of mutual banks in Ireland once temporary nationalisation is ended.

I wish to share my time with Deputies Rabbitte and Morgan.

See this speech in context