Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

He said, "The banks are now out of the way." It is laughable only because of how serious this matter is, what we are actually facing and the impact it is having on the lives of ordinary people. This is an absolute disgrace. I disagree with my colleagues who have spoken on the proposed statements. It is not a question of having more time for statements and having everybody make his contribution while the Government sits there without backbenchers having even to exercise a defence of what is taking place through being called upon to vote in favour of it. It is not statements we want; we need a debate. We need a proposition. We need to be sure that all Members on the Government side of the House, from both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, really belief what their Cabinet has been putting forward yesterday and today and what it will clearly put forward in the future. We do not want statements but decisions to be made in the interest of the people and the record to show this clearly.

We have no confidence in this proposition. It is a whitewash to give cover to the Government on foot of what it did yesterday and what it is now proposing to do once again. This morning the Sinn Féin Deputies tabled a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan. Having given careful thought and long consideration to the matter, we have had to come to that decision. There can be no other mealy-mouthed way about it. The fact of the matter is that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, the Taoiseach and their colleagues have not been upfront with the Members of this House. They have withheld critical information that would have been relevant and important to decisions we were asked to make on the floor of this Chamber. This goes back to 30 September 2008 when the full information in regard to Anglo Irish Bank was not shared with the elected representatives of the people in this House when the Minister sought the initial green light for the bank guarantee scheme.

Two years later, there can be no confidence in this Government's further efforts to lead the Irish people into financial destruction, which is where it is bringing us. It is with regret that we have been forced to take this decision, but we have had to do it. We are calling on the other Opposition voices in this House to facilitate the opportunity to take that motion forward onto the floor of this House where we can debate it. We will not accept this proposition. It is an absolute whitewash, and this Government is a total disgrace. What we need is for the Government to go before the people at the earliest possible opportunity so that they can decide. It is time for the Government to go. We need new policies, new direction and new leadership.

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