Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Anyone who has looked at Indecon's recent report on the Lisbon treaty will see how the cost of borrowing has fluctuated wildly during the past year. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, may need to consider careful monitoring to ensure, when the banks get back to lending and confidence flows again, that people will be able to borrow as cheaply as possible, and that no excessive margins are made by the banks on money they are borrowing cheaply because of our sovereign guarantees. I am anxious to see some form of oversight being put in place on Committee Stage to ensure that banks act responsibly in the interest of the tax payer as well as that of their shareholders. I am very concerned by what I understand to be the policy of AIB to propose increasing interest rates to 4% above the cost of funds. That is not acceptable to this House and the Minister for Finance must take on AIB on this issue. As a member of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, some weeks ago I asked that Permanent TSB be brought in to explain why it has put up its interest rates. It is coming in today. I asked this morning that AIB and Bank of Ireland be brought before the committee to explain what their interest rate policy will be when they receive as much as €20 billion in funds between now and Christmas.

Although I understand well that the Minister for Finance and politicians cannot interfere with banking or the market, it is very important that the interests of the taxpayer are paramount in the new regime in Irish banking. There is a need for a culture change in Irish banking and I agree with what Deputy Michael Noonan said yesterday. There is a need for the Irish banking system to be honest. It has not been so on a number of occasions when its representatives spoke to the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service. There is a need for significant reform in the banking system and for fundamental change in its management. I sincerely hope that an outsider will be brought in to become the managing director of AIB.

The speeches of the leaders of the Opposition parties in the debate last week reflect the bankruptcy of their ideals. The negativity of their contributions was breathtaking and demonstrated an absence of moral fibre regarding the needs of the country. Fine Gael and the Labour Party are looking for and expecting an election in the near future. God only knows what sort of solution they would bring forward to deal with our banking difficulties. They are so diametrically opposed in their proposed solutions that it is difficult to see how they could come together on the issue. I refer to the pre-emptive nationalisation proposed by the Labour Party along with de-listing from the Stock Exchange while, at the same time, a magic bank is proposed by Fine Gael which will find funny money in some location. This Government has not been popular in recent times but when one looks at the alternative proposed by Fine Gael and the Labour Party the ability of those parties to take on the difficult decisions that are now necessary to bring us through this crisis is called into question.

This is in stark contrast to the position taken by the Green Party. Our Government colleagues have had issues with NAMA but instead of wallowing in negativity like Fine Gael and the Labour Party, the Green Party has been constructive and in my view has improved the proposals significantly with its contributions. I agree with these proposals and I commend the party on the responsible approach it has taken. In view of much of what has now been put across by the Minister for Finance, there is no need to worry about some of the concerns individual members of the Green Party have expressed. These are the facts of the matter as opposed to the irresponsible and inaccurate claims made by the Opposition.

The Government has the right plan for recovery. As the International Monetary Fund stated in June, the policies are right. What is needed for recovery now is a determined execution of NAMA and for the Government to get on with its budgetary plans.

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