Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

When Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised, it effectively became part of the Government of Ireland and its limit was incorporated into the Irish limit of €16 million, reducing the pool to Ireland by €64 million. Nationalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland would have the effect of immediately reducing it by a further 32% at least as, he believes, that international investors would take flight. No amount of ECB money would replace this quality of funding and, in his view, it would lead us into a lengthy depression in Ireland. He says there is ample evidence that, on the back of the promise of NAMA, sovereign funding is improving. Based on his experience, he states that he would be 100% happy that, with the post-NAMA publication of clean balance sheets, funding will flow here and that the real economy will see the benefits. The banks will have to lend; otherwise, they will end up with a loan-to-deposit ratio of less than 100%. This will revive the economy.

This is not only about reviving our economy, but also about reviving our communities. As we have heard, the land bank will be large and there is a need for local authorities to come forward with ideas. That land should be used in the interim for the type of things I would like to see. I have spoken to farmers who regard allotments as a pension plan and there is potential in that area for food production. We need to train people in food skills. The Kenny report will be implemented when local authorities begin to take initiatives on how their communities are to be planned, rather than waiting for developers to do it. Likewise, credit unions have legislation that urges them to invest in their communities, not just in banks. While we need to capitalise the banks, we also need to invest in our communities. I hope that credit unions will be part of that, as well as local authorities.

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