Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We are facing up to our banking difficulties. We have acknowledged the scale of our problems and we have taken the necessary actions to solve them. The banks have been forced to recognise their losses and this Government, on behalf of the taxpayer, has committed the capital that will ensure we have a banking system to serve this economy as it recovers.

The steps we are taking today will provide certainty to the people from whom we must borrow; certainty among our trading partners; and certainty to investors, both at home and overseas, who look to this country for opportunities. This certainty will further boost international confidence in our ability to recover. Others believe in us. We must now begin to believe in ourselves.

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