Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I heard him state this solution was not his preferred option. While he is a respected Governor of the Central Bank for me, the absence of political negotiation in this regard has resulted in the people being forced to stump up billions and billions yet again. They cannot see any jobs being created and the attendant despair and disillusionment among a huge segment of our population is the cause of all this angst and anxiety. Moreover, again following on from the Governor's statement yesterday, that Anglo Irish Bank will no longer be a bank, what will happen to senior bondholders who remain locked into their investment in Anglo Irish Bank when it no longer is a bank? Will such bondholders, who invested in Anglo Irish Bank, be party to or the subject of a discussion in respect of a contribution they can make?

The Taoiseach states this is a proposal from the Government. However, if he looks back over the Governments spanning the past decade of which his own party has been the lead party, surely he can see that Ireland should not be in this position in the first place? Had the Government listened to advice from my party and others, as well as from objective commentators from outside the House, or had it taken some of it, the position would not be as bad or as serious as it is at present. However, given our current position, the people have good reason not to believe the Government and it is evident, no matter where one goes nationwide, that the time for decision is nigh. I regret the failure of the Government to have real heavyweight political negotiations in this respect. When the Taoiseach asks what is Fine Gael's alternative, my response is that we should not be in this position in the first instance. The reason we are in this position is because of reckless trading that was allowed to happen under the watch both of this Administration and its predecessor. It is clear that unfairness crept into the system and was allowed to spread its wings across all segments of every kind of lending.

The question that must be asked and that is being asked is who was in charge of all this? I thank the Taoiseach for the telephone call he made to me in which he stated that he would allow other parties to have access to the financial advice the Government was receiving and that it would be appropriate to meet the delegation from the IMF, the European Central Bank and the Commission. I did meet them, together with Fine Gael's finance spokespersons and others. The point they made was that this was a deal for Ireland and that it was being put together by civil servants, that is, between the delegation and the Department of Finance and the Central Bank. We asked them what flexibility might exist for a future Government, in the event that the people decided to change the Government, in the context of a deal being done. I state quite openly they made the point that, within the parameters of the overall target being achieved, which then was 3% by 2014 and now is 3% by 2015, they would be happy to hear other programmes that might be stronger in respect of incentive or investment for job creation, which would improve growth rates for the country, which would improve competitiveness or which would improve the capacity of our people and our island to generate further wealth with a view to being able to get back to the bond market is at an earlier time. They also made the point that within the four year plan adopted or put forward by the Government, some elements of which appear to have the thumbprints of the Commission on them, there also was room for consideration of some of its aspects. However, what has happened has been and will be a constraint on whatever Government the people decide to elect for the future.

People note the British Chancellor of the Exchequer has stated the British Government also intends to give Ireland money. Chancellor Osborne has stated that Ireland is Britain's nearest trading partner, that it is very important for Ireland to have sound public finances and that good trading relationships should be maintained. This is correct and goes without saying. However, it also is a fact of life that this loan is being given in order that money can be returned to banks in Britain, which must be paid for by the Irish taxpayer. That is the principal reason the Chancellor made this offer. No clarity of agenda about what has been going on has been transmitted to the Irish people. The message has been confused and woolly. All they know is that they are drowning in billions of euro that have been borrowed to pay banks that appear to have a never-ending chasm, which will be opening in front of the Irish electorate for the foreseeable future.

I agree with the Taoiseach that some fine things are happening in this country. When one talks to those involved in the export business, they say their projections are strong and their productivity has increased significantly. They are happy with the quality of the graduates and other young people available to them. There are problems in the indigenous manufacturing sector, however. Small businesses have been scalded by being refused access to credit. Thousands of retail outlets have real concerns. It is difficult for people to get employment. Many qualified graduates are sick of going for interview after interview without anything happening.

The real concerns and problems I have mentioned, which are affecting huge swathes of Irish life, are being compounded by the black cloud represented by the borrowing of billions of euro at exceptionally high interest rates that will be difficult to manage. The European Commission said yesterday that the Government's projected growth rates will not stand up. If that is the case, it will make it even more difficult for us to manage. I appreciate that the Taoiseach said on Leaders' Questions that there are always differing views on projected growth rates. Given that the Commission, like the ECB and the IMF, was represented on the delegation during the week, further difficulties will be created by its suggestion that the growth rates projected by Ireland will not stand up.

I have been informed by Deputy Coveney that there was a row at the European Parliament today about Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate. It appears that eight German and French MEPs, who are co-ordinators of political groupings, are trying to get up to 350 MEPs to sign a petition that recommends a minimum corporation tax rate of 25% should apply across the EU. That will become the position of the European Parliament if 350 signatures are achieved. Irish MEPs from all parties are objecting strenuously to this proposal. The Irish people gave their approval of the Lisbon treaty to the EU, at the second attempt. The matter had been discussed vigorously inside the European People's Party on many occasions. The big issue for EU member states was that EU institutions should be able to do what was intended under the Lisbon treaty. After much debate, the Irish people decided to give the EU that right, distinction and responsibility.

I reject completely the attempt by eight German and French MEPs to thwart the clear provision in the Lisbon treaty that taxation is a matter for each individual country. If their efforts were to succeed, it would represent a massive breach of trust. Every Deputy will recognise that foreign direct investment in this country has always been a cornerstone of Irish job creation policy. We need to be able to attract jobs to this country from overseas. We need to speak well of our country. I do not see why we cannot demonstrate and prove that this country, by 2016, will be the best small country in the world in which to do business. That will involve dealing with red tape and bureaucracy and clearing the obstacles that prevent employers from employing or retaining employees. In that way, we can restore the pride, confidence and hope of our people. All of these things can be done. The people have been beaten down by disillusionment and lack of confidence. There has been no clarity of agenda or clarity of outcome. This deal only adds to that.

I would like to emphasise a crucial point that has been lost in the middle of the financial row that has blown across Ireland for the last two years. Ireland is not this Government. The people have lost faith, confidence and belief in this Government. Ireland is not the Taoiseach or the individual Ministers. It is gone. It is over. It is practically at an end. The people will eventually have their say. Ireland is not the parties that comprise this Government, which is supported by Deputies from Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Independent benches. The Ireland I know is the Ireland of people across all walks of life who want a reasonable standard of living and a roof over their heads. The Irish people want the members of their families to have an opportunity to receive a decent education that sends them out with the competence and confidence to stand against anyone else from any part of the world. They want a working health system that is based on one's medical needs, rather than what one has in one's pockets. They want to be able to get on with living the lives they expected to live. Instead, they are encountering a constant barrage of disillusionment and despair, caused by the inability of the Government to set a clear agenda for the future. The Ireland I know will always remain a sovereign and independent nation. People feel very aggrieved about the recent loss of sovereignty.

I do not understand the Government's clear failure to protect the serious amount of money that has been invested in the National Pensions Reserve Fund. It was put there by the people, for the use of the people. It was not put there to be handed over as a contribution to the banks. I recognise the argument that says one must have a contribution if one has savings. In light of the plethora of ideas that have been proposed, some of which are first-class and excellent, I do not understand why the Government has not decided to invest in a strong programme for the provision of infrastructural facilities and jobs. Such a programme would aid the perception and reputation of this country if it were extended to areas like water, communications, renewables and people going to work. It would make the place much more attractive to local and foreign direct investment than it is in many cases at present. It has not happened, however. All of these things emphasise the fact that it is not the people of Ireland, or the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, who have lost this country's sovereignty. It has resulted from the failure of the Government to address and understand its responsibility to lead the people and the nation to the future I know we can have.

During the hiatus between this disastrous deal and the election, the people are waiting for the opportunity to give their verdict on those who stand for election all over the country. We should not have arrived at the point at which a deal had to be done. My belief, from a political perspective, is that when that point came, political negotiations in here would have delivered a better deal in the interests of Ireland because of the fact that we had to get money. I was told that this deal was conducted by civil servants with civil servants. When the Minister for Finance flew to Brussels to meet all the other Ministers, they said, "That is it, take it or leave it". If I had been there, I would have expected somebody to say, "This is about politics, ladies and gentlemen, and if you don't give me a better deal than what the civil servants have put together, I am going home". Ireland has a problem and Europe has a problem. I understand this evening that the contagion is alleged to have spread to other countries.

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