John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

How can anyone have confidence in a terms of reference for a commission of investigation into the banking crisis when the Fianna Fáil-led Government decides to exclude an analysis of the root causes of the crisis and to evade its role and responsibility in its creation? We now have the two independent reports into the Irish banking crisis, one of which addresses the causes of the crisis while the other addresses regulatory and financial stability policy in the period 2003 to 2008. The Government has now decided to draft the terms of reference for a commission of investigation in a very selective manner. All references to the role of successive Fianna Fáil Governments and the Department of Finance in the making of the crisis are excluded.

One of the most disastrous consequences of the economic crisis brought upon us by the Fianna Fáil-led Government is the loss of jobs and rising levels of unemployment. For every parent and grandparent in the country, the rising level of youth unemployment is one of the most obvious signs of Government incompetence. Today's school leavers and graduates are experiencing the worst employment market for many years. They are ready and anxious to work, but now they cannot find jobs. They do not want social welfare. The lack of domestic job opportunities is forcing many young Irish people to take one-way tickets abroad to find jobs. This is a national tragedy.

Local small business, retail outlets and tourism and hospitality services are struggling and many of them are closing down. Thousands have lost their jobs as a direct consequence of misguided Government policies. A thriving SME sector is one key to Ireland's recovery, but the Government is doing nothing to help this sector protect and create jobs. Two independent reports, from the titles on the cover pages through to the last pages of the appendices, state clearly that this was a home-grown crisis and the sole responsibility of the Government. The reports clearly state that Ireland's leaders were guilty of pursuing policies that proved catastrophic for the nation. The independent reports make it clear that the Fianna Fáil-led Government was the chief architect of the catastrophic failures of policy that led directly to our current economic crisis. It cannot avoid this.

The Honohan report states in paragraph 1.3: "The Government's procyclical fiscal policy stance [and] budgetary measures aimed at boosting the construction sector [...] were significant factors contributing to the unsustainable structure of spending in the Irish economy." Those in Fianna Fáil were intent on helping their friends and backers in the building industry - the Galway tent - and they continued with this policy for far too long. The construction sector became a cash-recycling pyramid scheme. For every €100 million of investment in the construction sector, €40 million came back to the Government as revenue. Superficially, it looked great, but we have ended up with enough retail space for a population of 42 million people. The UK has 1,000 sq. ft. of retail space per head of population; the equivalent in Ireland is 13,000 sq. ft. We have 900 hotels and more housing and apartment space than we know what to do with.

People deserve answers about the root causes of this disaster. They deserve public accountability and not a private cover-up. If we are to move on, the public need to know the truth about how the country was brought to its knees. The consequences of Fianna Fáil's policy failures will be felt for generations to come. In that context, we deserve the truth about who is responsible and we need to hear it in public. We must hear the details of how and why the Government and the Department of Finance got it so wrong.

The proposed terms of reference for the investigation into the greatest economic crash this country has ever experienced lack credibility and are completely inappropriate. They are designed exclusively to shift onto the banking sector the perception of how and why things went so badly astray. We heard this evening that €24 billion is gone. Can it be got back? If any valid lessons are to be learned from an investigation into this crisis, the terms of reference for the investigation must be widened to include the political content of budget and taxation policies, including the official advice given to the Department of Finance in the past number of years. The Government is in the dock and it is guilty. It cannot get away with it no matter what spin it puts on it.

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