Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

That there is a need to learn and internalise the lessons of the crisis we have been experiencing is not disputed on either side of the House. This evening, we have started to debate the two excellent reports on the crisis. Of course, the reports do not represent the whitewash that was predicted by some Deputies. The motion proposed by Fine Gael is politically focused. The reality is that much broader national and international factors were at play. We need honesty and reflection on all sides. During yesterday's confidence debate, I quoted the remarks of the President of the EU, Mr. Van Rompuy, in the Financial Times about the failure at EU level to understand how the euro was working and the imbalances it was establishing.

In the current situation, the Government has to be responsible out of necessity. For other parties, it is more of an issue of choices that will not necessarily have deep consequences. These reports should not be treated as a question of crude political reductionism. It has been amply demonstrated - I do not intend to argue it further - that there was, in aggregate, no superior foresight or virtue on the Opposition benches. I accept that Fine Gael's NewERA document contains constructive proposals. I repeat that serious questions need to be asked about its compatibility with the widely recognised imperative to focus at EU level on reducing sovereign debt and indebtedness. One of the implications of the plan, in the short term, would be to increase indebtedness.

The report compiled by Mr. Regling and Mr. Watson referred to the culture of Irish society. They suggested that there is a strong and pervasive preference in Irish society for property as an asset. Their historical point that Ireland had never before experienced a property crash is slightly more dubious.

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