Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on this legislation which I believe is the crime of the century. It will be unmatched in the history of this State or any State in Europe. The only reason the ECB is bailing out the banks here or putting up the money that the taxpayer is underwriting is because nobody else in the international financial markets will touch them. They know the banking system here is still corrupt to the core. They know that many of the boards and even the executives who were in place when all of this carry-on was happening are still in place now. The Minister of State is right to state that if it was not for the ECB there would be a significantly different problem facing the Irish economy.

The proposed NAMA Bill represents a project of such magnitude that it should not be undertaken without the consent of the people. This Bill cannot be treated like an annual budgetary matter. It is not an annual budgetary matter. It is taking in €40,000 plus from every family in this State without their permission. The Minister of State and the Government do not have a mandate to do that.

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