I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on the serious issue of banking and the appalling happenings in recent years in our banks. Listening to members from the other side of the House over the last couple of years, one would be led to believe that Government Members are revelling in the goings on in the banks. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are appalled and disgusted at the behaviour of those in control of the banks in recent years. This is our country too, the Ireland our ancestors fought for and where our children will grow up. The only difference between our disgust and that on the other side of the House is that we are in Government and did not have the opportunity to spend the last two years pointing fingers and issuing point scoring soundbites. Rather, we have faced the responsibility of rooting out those who were liable for wrongdoing and setting about fixing the system.

Fixing the system has proved to be laborious and expensive, however. The Government has been repeatedly accused of bailing out the banks and this, unfortunately, has become a populist catchphrase. We would much rather invest more heavily in health, education and services in general to improve the lives of our citizens, householders and businesses than having to stabilise the banking system.

Without a properly functioning banking system, the country we are so proud of would have fallen apart at the seams. It was not and is not a matter of choice. This Government set about responding decisively to the challenging position it was faced with. The Governor of the Central Bank has been replaced and a new head of financial regulation was recruited earlier this year. Stricter regimes have been implemented in the Central Bank, with further enhancements being considered as part of a Bill to be brought forward by Government shortly. Significant changes have also been made at senior levels in all the financial institutions that proved problematic. These enhancements, together with changes already in place, are absolutely vital to ensure that similar events do not ever recur.

At all times, the primary focus of this Government has been to ensure that no financial institution should fail in order to protect depositors and creditors, ensuring that State intervention in any financial institution should protect taxpayers' interests and that credit remains available to the real economy. The bank guarantee scheme took effect in 2008 and was vital for the survival of the economy and the banking system as a whole. Banks were facing closure within days, citizens would have been unable to access their deposits and businesses would have faced obliteration very quickly. Much criticism of the original bank guarantee scheme evolved, partly from the Labour Party, although Ireland led the way in this regard, and the financial experts agreed with the Government at the time and still do. Many other member states in the EU followed suit quickly after Ireland led the way. An amended bank guarantee scheme was introduced in December 2009 which is in line with the European model that has since been developed.

There have been many further developments with regard to addressing our banking difficulties including the setting up of NAMA. All of these developments have been measured and decisive for the good of our economy and citizens. The Government has set about implementing a strategy for the future of the country. Rather than putting the best interests of our people first, unfortunately we have an Opposition intent on feeding misinformation to the public in an effort to promote its own political agenda. It is disappointing, although not altogether surprising that we do not have a responsible Opposition in this House, one that can see beyond the next general election.

Tough decisions have been made by Government in the past two years and will continue to be made into the future. We do not take any pleasure in implementing any of these tough decisions rather must set aside electoral gains in the interest of the nation. The Labour Party has resisted every single measure introduced by the Government in an effort to stabilise our economy. While recent opinion polls probably excite the Labour Party it is time for it to back up its political sound bites with real costings and alternatives, which they obviously struggle to determine. Our measures are not popular; we do not expect them to be. We may suffer at the polls as a result but we can be content in the knowledge that we did the right thing by our people. We may be unpopular in the short term but the Labour Party too will in time be judged by its populist policies. I look forward to that time.

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