Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

In Russia in the 1990s, there were queues for food and public sector workers were not paid. That is the kind of appalling vista we must contemplate in respect of our own country. In that context and in light of the cost of recapitalising the banks for the full amount, the risks posed by nationalisation are not worth contemplating.

I have a great deal of respect for David McWilliams, who has been extensively quoted in the media and whose knowledge of ministerial eating habits is well known throughout the country at this stage. Mr. McWilliams is also known as the person who predicted the advent and eventual collapse of the property bubble. He made predictions in this regard in 1997, 2000 and 2004. Eventually, he was proven right. I was with him on the first occasion on which he predicted what would happen. He could see that the policies that were being put in place would lead to the creation of a property bubble and that any stamp duty revenues that would accrue would be temporary in nature and would need to be managed carefully because they would not be available for ever.

I do, however, disagree with Mr. McWilliams in respect of the valuation of property. He is of the view that we should allow the banking system to collapse and that a new natural order will arise in the aftermath. He also believes - by his use of a US method to calculate a variable on annual incomes - that property values will be halved. If what Mr. McWilliams believes were to come true, we would soon be living in a different environment. Ireland is a member of the EMS and is obliged to operate within a number of constraints. Unless we pull out of the euro, we do not have the freedom to employ too many measures to assist us in dealing with the economic crisis. As a result of the constraints to which I refer, I believe that the effect on house prices will not be as apocalyptic as Mr. McWilliams fears.

House prices may fall. In light of his contribution, Deputy Ó Snodaigh is obviously a fan of placing bets on the gee gees.

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