Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I do not want to get a lecture from any of the banking institutions in the future. I am very impressed with the new regulator, Mr. Elderfield. I hope as the years go by that the golden circle will not try to get to him. I do not think it will as legislation surrounds him, his office and Professor Honohan. At the end of the day, at least manners will be put on the financial institutions for the sake of everybody.

Banking facilities and institutions are hugely important in a developed economy, which cannot operate without them. I only hope in the new scenario with all the checks and balances provided for in the legislation that inordinate profits will be no more, greed will be flushed out of the system and we will experience a return to normal, decent, sensible banking. The banking system I want will look after people who have good ideas to employ themselves and others and businesses that must rely on reasonable bank overdrafts and that have projects, which are likely to be successful.

During the last election campaign it was the belief of Government economists and everybody associated them that the growth rate would be 4.4% in 2007. I am not an economist but with such a growth rate, a government can do many things with an economy. Three months after the election, the growth rate was almost zero and now we are experiencing negative growth rates of 5% and 10% and that is our big problem. It is only our hope that we have the ability to come back and that we all work towards that. People often refer to green shoots. I was delighted that Mr. Connellan of Dublin Port said on television last night that there had been a 24% increase in exports through the port, although that is coming from a low ebb compared with 2006, for instance. This is a useful signal but given the overhang of billions of euro that must be paid by the people, the green shoots would want to be oak trees today. That indicates how much of an increase in business is needed.

There is no question that there was a golden circle. The bankers believed they could do what they liked and they had no bosses, whether they were regulators, Ministers or taoisigh. Against that background, the people who got us in the mess we are in will never be able to get us out, irrespective of what they do, because they will not have the goodwill of the people to pick themselves up,dust themselves down and do what the Americans are doing. The Americans believe they were badly let down but at least somebody is trying to help them now and they are trying to row in. Confidence means that if one thinks something will work out and one works towards it, nine times out of ten it will work out. The negativity surrounding our county is something to behold. I have never witnessed anything like it. While new appointments have been made to regulatory offices and to the boards of banks, I do not believe, no matter how well meaning the Minister is, the Government that caused this has the ability to deliver the final onslaught to lift the economy to where it is entitled to go and will go as time moves on.

When the funding goes, everything goes. The Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, was in the Chamber earlier. I refer to the effect of financial mismanagement on everybody down the line. He drove through east Galway recently to have a look at the aftermath of the flooding prior to Christmas. Naturally, after six months, everyone expected the Government to help those who were hurt most. A man in Ardrahan, County Galway, has two houses, both of which were flooded. He has been told no remedial action can be taken to ensure this does not happen again. The insurance company that covered him will no longer do so and the Minister of State is reported to have told him yesterday that he will be not be relocated. In other words, he has to stay where he is. I refer to this because if we were living in better times, every Minister would try to do what is necessary. If the economy has reached a point where a man, his wife and a few young children are condemned to living on a flood plain, having been granted planning permission by Galway County Council, that will give the House an idea of how bad is everything.

I refer to house repossessions. I do not have good news for the banks on this either because there is a perception that the banks have sympathy for people who are unable to meet their repayments. It is beginning to flow around the country that the banks will take it handy if people go in and talk to officials. I guarantee the Minister of State that if the banks were able to sell their houses, they would be auctioned tomorrow morning. The only reason the banks will not repossess houses is they have too many properties that they cannot sell anywhere. I expect the Government to have a big say on this issue. It looks as if the number of people in trouble with their mortgages is increasing every month and almost 500,000 householders will find it difficult to meet their repayments if interest rates increase as we have been told they will. That is when misery will be experienced by the vast majority of young couples throughout the State.

However it is organised and whatever deal is done with the banks, NAMA and everybody else along the line, the Government must not put people out of their houses. The houses will be repossessed but they cannot be sold on the market. Worse still, 80,000 families are on local authority housing lists. The number was never higher than this week. There is not a penny available to build a house for them. Given that so many houses are vacant, surely somebody has the imagination to ensure some houses could be reallocated to those who do not have a house.

I always expect people to pay what is humanly possible because I do not want a free ride for anyone. We have no free lunches in this country but where couples are doing their level best to pay and continue to do so, how dare the banks or any Government put them out of their homes. That is an outrageous thought. That is why I have serious problems with NAMA. It is the law of land, irrespective of whether we like it, but I would not like to have a vote in favour of NAMA on my curriculum vitae like Green Party and Independent Members. I would not like to face the electorate at the next election on the basis that I voted in favour of the agency. I hope it will be successful but too many things are wrong with it. I am terribly afraid that we will see many more house repossessions over the next 12 months. Whatever else the Government parties do, they must not put people out on the road.

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