Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

There is no fuzzy thinking here. The Taoiseach said the taxpayer would not be at a loss because of the injection into Anglo Irish Bank. We now have a situation where he admits that more than €20 billion is lost forever down a black hole. Think of what could be done in our country if that type of money were being pumped into construction, infrastructure or jobs.

Second, the Taoiseach was wrong when he and his Minister said that NAMA would provide a wall of cash. More than 800 businesses have gone to the wall since the start of the year. Some 452,000 people are out of work and thousands more are facing an uncertain future because of the reckless mismanagement of the economy by the Government.

Third, the Taoiseach was wrong when he said there would be no sweetheart deals. Am I to understand that on a loan-by-loan basis, NAMA has already made particular conditions for one very large developer who is unable to comply with the loan conditions granted in the first instance? There are no sweetheart deals for those in negative equity. There are no sweetheart deals for those who cannot pay their mortgages. Yet it appears the same old circle comes around again for Fianna Fáil in government whereby particular operators can be given sweetheart deals.

The Taoiseach also said - and he was wrong on this - that NAMA would provide a profit of €4.8 billion. Yet the Minister for Finance himself - not anybody on this side of the House - spelled out a situation where, he said, hundreds of millions of euro could potentially be lost. If the Taoiseach is saying the Minister's thinking is fuzzy in this regard, he should take that up with the Minister.

The Taoiseach was wrong in respect of the wall of cash; he was wrong in respect of the sweetheart deals; he was wrong in respect of credit for business; and he was wrong in his assessment of how this process would help the economy to pick up. Will he at least take his courage in his hands, as the leader of the worst Government in the history of this State, and go to the country in order to let the people decide what they want in terms of government for the future?

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