Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

It is an assumption, but in Government one is called to make judgments on such assumptions. It is not easy but one has to take the expert advice one gets into account. It is hard in many instances for the public. People are complaining that they had been assured the liquidity position was fine, when it was not. One has to be careful and must present a certain picture to actually help the country get through these difficulties. It is not in our interest to talk ourselves down and see money running out of the country, which makes the problem only worse. We have acknowledged the problem and the scale of the difficulties we face, but we should not let it run away from us. I have a real fear that in nationalising the banks we would create a situation whereby all our faith would be in the Department of Finance in Merrion Street. As good as the Department of Finance is, I do not believe the people in it have the skills and ability to run six banks.

I agree with Deputy Bruton. The NAMA allows us to do what he is suggesting regarding the use of some of the resources within the existing banks, as we manage them back to recovery by taking out the bad assets, to raise funds internationally and manage the credit. They can do much of the work, co-ordinated by the NAMA, in terms of the management of these assets. We are not getting rid of tens of thousands of bank officials. That is not in our interest. We need to keep the good people that are in the baking system working - and we can do that under the NAMA proposal. Collapsing everything into the Department of Finance and expecting it to have the ability to do it, is not on, and I do not have faith that such an approach would work.

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