Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

Unlike others, I do not play politics with the economic future of this country. The Government must accept responsibility for its part in wrecking this economy.

The Minister, Deputy Martin, referred earlier to the banking reports and alleged that many people in this House have not read them. The following are the conclusions of those reports: Ireland was heading towards an economic crisis long before the collapse of Lehman Brothers; section 23 tax incentives and mortgage interest reliefs were behind the property bubble; Anglo Irish Bank was not the only bank at fault; the banks often ignored lending guidelines, which was a disgrace; bonuses for senior and middle management created the wrong incentives; supervisors right up to the end clung to the hope of a soft landing for the economy and property market; and regulators had little experience and bankers were overly optimistic. These are the conclusions of the reports. It is further stated that regulators were too "timid" and excessively deferential to their bosses and the banks. Another important conclusion is that the Central Bank and IMF failed to warn about the danger in vivid terms. Also, there was no supervision of building when lending to developers began. They are the main conclusions of the banking reports which point clearly to the cause of the situation in which we now find ourselves.

In the overall context, the blame lies at the hand of the Government, the bankers, the developers and those in the broader society, not yet mentioned in this debate, who were greedy and lost the run of themselves. This includes some sections of the media. To these people I say get off the high moral ground and face up to your own mistakes. I believe it was one of the Kennedys who said that integrity is the lifeblood of democracy; deceit is a poison in its veins. These words are true and relevant to this debate. For me politics is about integrity and public service. For me integrity means more than the absence of corruption. It means more than just transparency, accountability or honesty in Government or business. It is the sum of all these values. This is what the country needed some years ago and is what it needs now. Part of the solution to the further development of the economy, banks and public service in this country is groups such as Transparency International, whose work, efforts and commitment on these issues I commend.

I have cautiously welcomed the Government's proposals in regard to whistleblowers and a crack down on white collar crime. However, I have concerns.

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