Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Government policy on the banks is not working. Even in the short time since we met last week, Postbank has announced it will cease operations, with a possible loss of 160 jobs, Hughes & Hughes bookseller has gone into receivership, with 225 jobs lost, clothing retailers Vero Moda and associated retailers are losing 80 jobs, SIAC Butler's Steel is losing 55 jobs, and we do not know how many more jobs have gone from various small businesses around the country. However, we will probably get some indication when the Government leaks the live register figures later this evening in anticipation of their publication tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, we hear from businesses - the ICC monitor companies - that 952 companies became insolvent last year and ISME has informed us that more than half of companies that apply for loans or overdraft facilities are refused. What is happening is that the banks are not lending to businesses. They are not lending. The Government policy on banking is not working and because of that many people in the country are no longer working.

We are now in the third calendar year of this recession. It is a year since the Government announced its policy to establish NAMA. To date, as I understand, not a single loan has been transferred to NAMA. The Government banking policy is not working. Last year, the Government rejected the Labour Party proposal for a temporary nationalisation of the banks. Now it looks as though the Government will gradually nationalise the banks by default. Does the Taoiseach have any plans to change Government policy on the banks or will we have a continuation of a policy which has resulted in little or no credit being made available to businesses and consequences for the survival of those businesses and for jobs? Will he continue with a policy that requires taxpayers to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay over thousands of millions of euros to Anglo Irish Bank, Allied Irish Banks and the other covered institutions?

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