Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The Minister made reference on behalf of the Minister for Finance that the covered institutions are paying a levy. It is important for the record to say that that levy is but a fraction of the increased cost of borrowing by Irish taxpayers and the bond spreads we have endured as a country following the blanket guarantee that the Fianna Fáil-led Government introduced. It is inappropriate to suggest that somehow we are in the debt of the banks because they have paid a nominal amount towards the facilities and the guarantee they have received from the taxpayers and then to entirely ignore from the arithmetic the enormous additional interest cost.

Paul Krugman pointed out recently that we have taken austerity on the chin until the pips squeak. How have the international bond markets responded? They are marking us up with some of the dearest bond spreads, much dearer, for instance, than Spain or many other countries. Yesterday with troubles in the market again, our bond spreads have increased to enormous levels. The Minister suggested that somehow the banks are doing us a favour and that Anglo Irish Bank, with its €22 billion, €20 billion of which is down the drain and we may still need to pump €5 billion to €7 billion over and above that amount into the bank, is somehow or other paying its way. Like fantasy football that is fantasy economics.

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