Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this extremely important legislation. In respect of the gravity of the legislation and its potential implications, it is unprecedented. Having listened to the remarks of some Government Deputies, I must compliment Fianna Fáil on its innovative and creative rewriting of history without batting an eyelid. If we were to sit here and listen to some of the contributions, we would believe that Fianna Fáil Deputies are white knights riding into town to sort out a crisis that has nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, that is not the case and we need some reality in this debate. We need acknowledgement and humility from the Government benches that theirs is the responsibility for the mess this country is in. The buck needs to stop with those who are responsible for the flawed and failed policies that brought us to this position. It is an inescapable fact that a property bubble fuelled by Government policies led to the degree of implosion we see in the Irish economy. I acknowledge international factors and the international recession but there is no doubt that decision making was fundamentally flawed over the past 12 years. This caused the level and degree of collapse in this country. We must recognise the unhealthy relationship between certain developers, certain vested interests and certain Ministers. They were intoxicated by a champagne fuelled relationship in the Galway tent and elsewhere, leading to flawed and dangerous decision making and policy setting at Government level.

The Opposition benches can agree that we urgently need a solution to the banking crisis. I will not disagree with any Government Member who says that the Irish economy is inextricably linked to the Irish banking system. Whether we like or not, we must find a solution to the banking crisis. We need a plan to restore confidence and to restore international investment in this country. We have no alternative. I will not subscribe to some of the catchcries I have heard from the Government benches and the Independent Deputies shouting from the rooftops about bailouts.

We must also examine the context in which this crisis arose. We must examine the irresponsible lending of the banks and the loan book of the Irish banks that will be addressed by the proposed legislation. Some €68 billion was the total sum loaned by the Irish banks involved, 66% of this in Ireland and the remainder in Northern Ireland, the UK and the USA. Discussions that focus on the conditions in Ireland are relevant only to two thirds of the total loan value, approximately €51 billion. Anglo Irish Bank, which is now in State ownership, accounts for 30% of the total lending, while AIB and Bank of Ireland account for a further 60%. This level of lending was reckless and irresponsible. From the Government's response over the past 12 months, it appears that this behaviour is without consequence or reproach. That is the crux of why Irish taxpayers and honest to goodness Irish people are so angry. They do not see any culpability for behaviour in these banks. This is not good enough. NAMA provides a safety net for reckless, irresponsible behaviour on the part of these banks, speculators and for certain politicians who facilitated this and turned a blind eye. In some cases they formulated policies to support these practices.

We are not here to discuss Fine Gael proposals, we are dealing with the legislation at hand. I accept that Fine Gael must now deal with the legislation. I am not afraid to don a green jersey in order to find the best solution for Irish taxpayers. I hope the Minister for Finance, for all his rhetoric, bluff and guff, will be man enough to don the green jersey and accept amendments from this side of the House on Committee Stage. That opportunity will be presented to him.

NAMA represents the most significant risk ever taken in legislation in the history of the State. The most important aspect is the extent to which the taxpayer will be exposed, particularly in respect of the non-Anglo Irish Bank debt because that bank is State-owned. We cannot know the extent of taxpayer exposure but we can work to minimise it. That we do not have clarity is a serious indictment of the Government. The Government should remember that its responsibility is not to bankers who believe they can act with impunity, nor is it to developers who overextended themselves, irrespective of how friendly they are with particular Ministers. The only responsibility of the Government is a duty of care to the Irish taxpayer who did not take any risks, did not act in a reckless manner and did not put the welfare and future of fellow citizens in peril, as many bankers and developers did.

The introduction of a 95% level of exposure to taxpayers has been aired in the media in recent weeks. This is not good enough, representing a 5% risk for bondholders who took a deliberate risk and put their heads above the parapet. It cannot be conceived of by any right thinking person as just or fair. It is simply not right and the Government must address this by amending legislation to reflect the risk people took and to reflect the fact that ordinary taxpayers did not voluntarily take any risk and did not stand to gain had the risk worked out. Taxpayers would not have benefited from it whereas the speculators and the bondholders would. That is an important point that is not reflected in the Bill.

The 30% discount on loan value is equally disappointing. We are still waiting for explanations from the Minister on this. The rising costs are not factored into the legislation or into any of the explanations offered by the Minister. Deputy Bruton has pointed out that this is a potential black hole in the financial estimates of €10 billion. We have no evidence of supporting documentation. As Deputy Bruton pointed out last week, no risk analysis has been carried out.

I would like to discuss many other aspects of this but I do not have time. Whatever scheme forms the basis of a solution to the banking crisis - and we need a solution to the banking crisis - it must ensure that the banks start lending again and that must be the key objective. It must protect the taxpayers and ensure that liquidity is restored to the banks. I have serious concerns about bailing out an institution such as Anglo Irish Bank which quite clearly will never lend again. It is inexcusable.

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