Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The Government's policies of the past 12 years brought us to the economic and banking crisis of last September, which is much worse than is being experienced in other countries. Alternative approaches were available during that 12-year period, many of which were voiced by the Labour Party. For example, in regard to the property bubble, as far back as 1999 the Labour Party was proposing an alternative approach to the price of housing. Deputy Eamon Gilmore, who was then our spokesperson on the environment, initiated a Labour Party housing commission which in 1999 published the report, Housing: A New Approach, containing many proposals dealing with affordable housing, land speculation, people's rights to housing and so forth.

The Labour Party's voice was not the only one. There were other alternative voices and many warnings to the Government. It was commonly said in recent years that we needed to build 50,000 houses a year yet for some years the Government allowed for 90,000 houses, which was totally unsustainable. The All-Party Committee on the Constitution, on which I served, recommended, for example, the implementation of the Kenny report and stated there was no legal or constitutional obstruction to the Government doing this. However, the Government let land speculation and the housing bubble continue despite the warnings.

When the Government took its decision last September, it compounded the economic crisis by guaranteeing all bank loans, including the most reckless, although there were alternatives to that decision. The Labour Party voiced alternative points of view and media commentators and economists gave an alternative approach but all of this was ignored by the Government. The Government decision, which was very significant, has led us to where we are now. The taxpayers, those we represent, are now burdened with all of the debts of the banks, including the most reckless. While we have no alternative but to deal with this situation, and the Government has proposed the setting up of NAMA, all of the control is still in the hands of the banks.

Deputy Mary White said earlier that we need to do this right but the Government has got it wrong to date and is still not listening to the alternative point of view. Perhaps it is time it began to listen to the proposals of the Labour Party and some economists. It should not listen to those who were saying everything was fine when the property bubble was growing in an unsustainable way or those who spoke about a soft landing and equilibrium, none of which has happened. The Government needs to take different advice and stop listening to the vested interests and the voices of the few who just want their interests protected.

As proposed by the Labour Party, nationalisation at this late stage will give the State control over the banks on behalf of the stakeholders, who are the taxpayers - the people we represent. Through the Government, they have taken on the burden of all the debts of the banks. We have proposed a banking commission to ensure that whatever happens to the banks when they are nationalised will be done in the common interest, and that the best people will be put in place to do the job.

The Government's reluctance to do this can only mean it is still in the same mindset it has been in for the past 12 years and which it was in back in September when it recklessly guaranteed all of the bad debts of the banks. It is as if the banks know better and the Government will do what they want because it does not want to intervene in the private arena. Deputy Beverley Flynn, a former banker, said that State ownership is a last resort but surely we are at the stage of last resort. Deputy Michael Moynihan said the banks are not lending but surely that is an argument for the State to take control. Deputy Flynn said the Government was protecting the taxpayer when it took the decision to guarantee all the debts back in September but that is patently not the case because guaranteeing all of the toxic debts could mean that this economy will not get out of recession for many years to come.

This is part of the same Government mindset that created all of the mistakes in the budget. The Government will not learn from what is being done in other countries and what the Labour Party is proposing in terms of stimulating the economy to get it moving again and creating and saving jobs. Most of all, if we want to get the banks right, we need to do what the Labour Party proposes and nationalise the banks at this stage.

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