I welcome the opportunity to speak this evening on the Central Bank Reform Bill, which is another positive measure being introduced by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan. Positivity is an attribute that has been sorely lacking in this country for too long. I welcome that the Minister is, through this Bill, bringing to the forefront regulation in regard to our banking sector.

There is outrage among ordinary people at how we got to this point, who is to blame and why we, as ordinary people, have to suffer for the wrongdoing of others. These emotions are understandable in the current economic crisis. There has been unforgivable reckless behaviour by some of those in the banking sector and I look forward to the day when they face the full rigour of the law. In the meantime, we must continue to focus upon fixing the problems with which we are faced.

There have been many measures introduced by the Minister for Finance, measures that received ample criticism from all sides of this House and the wider public. However, I have always had confidence in these measures, many of which have already been applauded by experts in the field as being the correct course of action. It is the Government's job to ensure that the correct measures are implemented. It is not in the business of trying things out; there is simply too much at stake. Those in Opposition can make suggestions knowing they will never have to implement them, thus their reliability will never be tested. This type of behaviour does not bode well for our economy. It pokes the problem but never offers a solution. I know individuals, families and businesses across the country are suffering, be it as a result of unemployment or a fall in income or business. I meet them every day in my constituency in Donegal which faces these problems and also problems because of close proximity to Northern Ireland. I have huge empathy for their situation. However, we were elected to this House to shape solutions and that is what this Government is consumed with.

Last week, the late Mr. Gerry Ryan passed away, may he rest in peace, and we witnessed an outpouring of grief from our nation. He was a superbly talented broadcaster who spoke his mind regardless of who might take offence. One of his many attributes that I admired was his ability to turn a negative into a positive, and this could be seen on a daily basis as listeners turned to him with individual problems that were affecting their lives, some large, some not so large and some small. Gerry always revelled in the challenge of finding a solution no matter what the problem. His positivity was enthralling and he was a strong advocate of not talking ourselves down as nation. It is this frame of mind with which we should all move forward. Talking ourselves down is a dangerous concept and no matter what the task, we must as a Government shape a solution, as we have been doing for the past 18 months to two years, finding solutions to the banking and economic crises.

There is no simple quick fix; it has required several very large steps, all of which have cost our economy much money. However, we had to find a solution. Winding down some of the troublesome banks would have been wrong, although it would most likely have been the easiest way. I know I could have sold that solution to my constituents much more easily than one involving having to invest billions of their money in our banks. However, it is not about taking money out of the economy and giving it to the banks; it is about building this country back up, and this involves having a fully working banking system. If it could have been done in another more simple way, of course we would have done it. We are in the ultimate phase in the resolution of our banking crisis. NAMA is up and running and has forced banks to acknowledge reality and to recognise their losses, which were sobering. Prudent capital requirements have been set by the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank to ensure that the reckless lending of the past does not repeats itself.

Bank of Ireland recently announced that it would be able to meet its capital requirements through private investments, which show that the market has confidence in our strategy. The EBS is currently exploring the availability of private market capital and has had an expression of interest to date. Many of the other banks are not in such a favourable position but rest assured that any investment by the Government will realise significant gains for our citizens.

I acknowledge that the Central Bank Reform Bill is a crucial step in a comprehensive programme to put in place a domestic regulatory framework for financial services. I commend our Minister for Finance in his unrelenting pursuit of stability and reform. This is a very real effort to maintain the stability of the banking system while safeguarding the interests of consumers and investors.

I look forward to publishing two reports investigating the collapse of the banking system later this month. The Governor of the Central Bank will report on the performance of the functions of the Central Bank. The second report will investigate the recent crisis in our banking system to assess what lessons can be learned and to inform the future management and regulation of the sector. Following this, an independent statutory commission of investigation will be established to identify, examine and report on the causes of systemic failures such as corporate strategy, governance and risk management in the Irish banking industry.

It is important that we remind ourselves why we need to stabilise our banking system. A major concern was the safeguarding of deposits, which was the money of every citizen who had money in the banks. If we had not provided the guarantee, in many cases ordinary people would have lost their life savings. We put the guarantee in place. The next major concern was business; without business we cannot get out of this recession. We need to get credit flowing to businesses and to SMEs in particular. The nationalisation and recapitalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and the establishment of NAMA were put in place to get credit flowing again. This is our ultimate aim and we are determined to see it through. It is only then that full realisation of the Government's plan will be evident.

In return for these measures the Minister for Finance is imposing specific lending targets on the AIB and Bank of Ireland. Both banks must make €20 million available to Enterprise Ireland supported ventures for seed capital. They will each set up a fund of up to €100 million for environmental, clean energy and innovation projects. These are just some of the claw-back measures being imposed on the banks. The credit review process has also been established for those who have had credit refused or withdrawn, whereby they can apply for an independent review of a bank's decision. Our focus is mainly on getting credit flowing for business and only then will we see the real fruits of our stability measures.

Those having difficulty with their mortgage repayments are also a very real concern. A number of initiatives to support these people have been introduced. The statutory code of conduct on mortgage arrears for all lenders has been introduced. The moratorium on legal proceedings has been extended from six to 12 months and we have refocused mortgage interest relief on those who bought homes at the peak of the market. More than 15,000 families have been supported through the mortgage interest subsidy scheme. We have increased the advisory services through the MABS. The Irish Banking Federation has given assurances that where a satisfactory arrangement is reached and adhered to between a borrower and a financial institution its members will not take legal action against the borrower. Thankfully, repossession rates in Ireland remain extremely low, but one repossession is one too many. I highly commend any measures taken to help those in mortgage arrears.

To counteract some of the doom and gloom that we increasingly hear, the ESRI and the Central Bank have predicted the economy will begin to grow in the second half of this year. The ESRI predicts that in 2011 GNP will grow by 2.75% while the Central Bank states that it will grow by 2.8%. Exports have increased by 16% from just over €6 billion to €6.99 billion since December 2009. This could create 20,000 jobs next year and 45,000 the year after. Ireland is the only economy in the euro area in which labour costs are falling and this makes us more competitive. Huge export opportunities exist in the emerging economies such as Brazil, India, China and Russia all of which Ireland and the Government are looking to fully exploit.

Consumer confidence is growing as is business confidence. As many Members have stated, car sales have increased by 30% since this time last year. In the past week I learned that car sales in Donegal have increased by more than 50%, with more cars sold this year than in all of last year, so certainly the indicators are very good. Only last month, the leader writer with the Financial Times, Chris Cook, commented that Ireland is in pretty good shape. Various other promising statements have been made in recent weeks also. José Manuel González-Páramo of the ECB stated earlier this year that the Irish measures are very courageous and are going in the right direction. The German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Werner Hoyer, stated that there is a fundamental belief that the Irish are going to solve it. The French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, stated that Ireland has set a high standard and the rest must follow. The Wall Street Journal carried an article on the Irish economy stating that the Irish Government has repeatedly taken extraordinary steps to fix its financial problems. Today, I read that the Exchequer returns for the end of April look fairly favourable also.

I commend all of the steps being taken by the Minister for Finance despite constant criticism from all sides of the House. While it will take a little time, by the end of this year we will have a bright future and I look forward to better times.

See this speech in context