Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to make a brief contribution this evening. I welcome the reports and commend the expert analysis and assessment of the issues undertaken by Mr. Klaus Regling, Mr. Max Watson and Professor Honohan. We should not fool ourselves as everybody on all sides of the House knows mistakes were made. A number of factors contributed to the position in which we find ourselves, and the reports provide a timely insight into the factors that led to the current climate. Lessons should be learned in order to ensure that our children never experience another banking crisis of this magnitude.

In our clinics every day of the week we can see the effects of the banking crisis as we represent our constituents. I have lost count of the number of young couples who have approached me with pitiful stories about buying their dream homes at inflated prices, now to be saddled with enormous debt and an asset worth a fraction of what was paid for it. Some have lost one or even two incomes and their stories are very sad.

We can think that just a few years ago these people were some of the best-educated people in Europe with hopes and dreams and the world at their feet. As a public representative and a mother of teenagers, I do not want to again see such a reversal of young people's fortunes. I do not want to again see this level of despair in young people, the unemployed and the heavily indebted. We must ensure that never happens again.

The banking crisis left the banks in a position where after years of unregulated and irresponsible lending, they are unable to lend to even the most creditable of customers. I have asked the question before in this House and I will pose again. What was the Financial Regulator doing at this time? He sat on his hands and closed his eyes, ears and mouth; he saw nothing and said nothing.

First-time buyers today may as well forget about applying for a mortgage and, crucially, small and medium enterprises are being strangled by the tightening of credit. Many people in business have come to me and told of banks cutting overdrafts overnight, with no hope of any further extension from any other financial institution. I have advised such people to use the credit review process and I believe their applications will be upheld. The result of all this will be the loss of jobs we can ill afford to lose if we are to maintain our economy's development in the right direction. Once again it is the youth who will suffer.

I could continue ad nauseam about the consequences of the banking crisis but they are quite apparent for everybody to see. I do not believe we should get bogged down in the blame game, and as Mr. Regling and Mr. Watson stated to the members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service, it would be easy to blame persons or institutions but it would miss a very important point and be too simple.

I have said before but will repeat that I hold no court for any banker who behaved irresponsibly. I believe in natural justice and when the process is completed, such natural justice will prevail, with those who did wrong by the taxpayers and good people of this country paying a heavy penalty.

Whatever the view on Mr. FitzPatrick and Mr. Fingleton, there is a time to move on from an atmosphere of reprisal and recriminations if we are to get our banks and economy moving again. I am proud to stand up as a Government Deputy and defend our record since the banking crisis materialised. If hindsight was foresight, nobody would ever make a mistake.

I welcome the reports, which provide a valuable insight from which lessons must be learned. Standing still or maintaining the status quo is not an option and as a Government Deputy I am happy with the course of action being taken by this Government to address the problems.

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