John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

We did not take money from banks or developers. When other parties were shouting for tax cuts and stamp duty amnesties, we warned of unfettered greed in the banking system, builder-led development and putting profit before people. Our banking and property problems cannot be fixed unless we address our planning problems.

In this country greed ruled over need when it came to planning. The profits of developers and landowners were placed by councils the length and breadth of the country above the needs of ordinary citizens. It is no coincidence that our commuter towns are now suffering most from the economic downturn. These are towns where house upon house was built and field upon field re-zoned but hardly any facilities built, where unemployment rates have increased most quickly and house prices have collapsed by the largest amount and where citizens have paid an enormous price for the decisions of councillors who re-zoned at the behest of greedy developers and landowners.

We have heard much from the Opposition which has used every opportunity to claim NAMA is a bailout. That is not the case and if, for one minute, I thought it was a bailout for any developer, I would not touch it with a barge pole. My party can stand proudly on its record on our dealings with developers and bankers and the policy decisions in which we have been involved. Five years ago, almost to the day, the Labour Party and Fine Gael launched their much vaunted Mullingar accord. Mullingar was chosen for the signing because of the power sharing agreement between the two parties reached on Westmeath County Council. Did this agreement bring with it a new type of politics to County Westmeath? Did people come before the profits of banks and land speculators? Not one bit of it. The power sharing agreement between the parties brought with it some of the most irresponsible planning this country has ever seen.

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