Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

First, I thank Deputy Noonan for tabling this most important motion, which I fully support and endorse. There is an urgent need for political and economic stability in light of the country's present position and it is clear that we face into the political abyss. An accelerated budgetary process will be necessary to restore some economic stability, while a general election will be necessary to restore political stability. If the Government is interested in putting the citizens first, it will present the necessary legislation and provide an accelerated budgetary process to be completed by the end of December.

One can thank both Government parties for destroying and bankrupting the country and for forcing thousands of young people in particular to emigrate. The reason the unemployment figures were lower today is that many young people now have little future here and must emigrate to get work. It also is clear that the burden will remain on the 1.8 million people who will be obliged to pay taxes in Ireland for many months and years ahead. They will be obliged to repay all the money that has gone into the banks. It clearly is impossible for the Government to go to the bond market at present as there is no credibility in the country's capacity to repay money and as a consequence, the interest rate for ten-year Irish Government bonds reached 9.2% today. In light of the deal concluded recently with the European Commission and the IMF, it is worrying that yields and spreads have not fallen by now.

In his recent statement, the Minister, Deputy Gormley, summarised this clearly by stating that Irish people feel misled and betrayed. Everyone has been misled and betrayed and that is an understatement, to say the least. Most people are livid, furious and angry and this came through in the results of the most recent by-election, in which it was not an established party that received the majority of the votes cast. People are angry that the National Pensions Reserve Fund has been raided and that there will be no money forthcoming from it to pay pensions for those who will retire in years to come unless the money is replenished in the coming years. The Green Party, through the Minister, Deputy Gormley, has made a complete mess, both of itself and Ireland's international image, by giving notice that it intended to pull out of government in two months' time. The best decision it could have made would have been to simply pull the rug, rather than continuing to add to the country's instability by announcing a decision to opt out of government.

If the Green Party is determined to work for the people, it will ensure that the budgetary process is completed as soon as possible before the end of the year. The Fine Gael motion states there is no reason the Dáil cannot sit on every working day between now and the year end, were the Government determined to clear the decks and have a general election. Members have been told that the social welfare Bill and the budget are ready and if the Government acts as though this is an emergency, the necessary legislation, such as the finance Bill, can be progressed much more rapidly. Fine Gael's leader, Deputy Kenny, made a direct plea to the Taoiseach during Leaders' Questions last week, in which he asked the Taoiseach to bring forward the budget by one week. Sadly, this plea fell on deaf ears. While the Taoiseach stated that his party was not intent on clinging on to power, that is the impression that is coming across. The perception is that the Government is desperate and is trying to remain in office for as long as it can. The authority of and trust in the Government evaporated during the negotiations last week and in the previous week, on foot of continual denials from Ministers that negotiations or applications for funding through the European Commission and the IMF were taking place. Given what was going on in the background, it is clear there would be a bailout. The country needs both confidence and stability, which it lacks at present. This is the reason so many commercial deposits are leaving Ireland, as financial institutions no longer have confidence in the political establishment or the manner in which the economic position has been allowed to deteriorate. Fine Gael is different. Last week it tabled a motion on corporation tax and on doing what is right for Ireland to ensure the retention of the low 12.5% corporation tax rate, which is most important. I note, from the publication of the four year plan, that a difference of opinion is evident between the Government and the European Commission. The Government has forecast an economic growth rate of 1.75% next year, while the Commission has forecast that it will be 0.9%. Were one to ask people outside this Chamber which of the two predictions they believe, I believe that one would get one's response.

It is clear that the banking situation has gone from bad to worse. The core tier 1 capital ratios have been increased yet again from 8% to 12%. The banks and the banking industry have undermined confidence in the economy as a whole and their situation lacks credibility. The banks' failure to make adequate provision during the boom years for loan loss provisions obviously has added greatly to such lack of confidence. No restructuring plan has yet been produced for the banking sector although this will be necessary to draw a line in the sand and to enable both the country and the banking industry to move forward. Until a credible plan is introduced, I fear that people will be unable to move on. As for Anglo Irish Bank, people have been waiting for two years for prosecutions to take place but no such prosecutions of senior bankers who may have been involved in wrongdoing are forthcoming. The sooner that such prosecutions are brought forward and the sooner that files are issued to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the better.

In conclusion, I support fully this motion that an accelerated budgetary position is necessary and that the Government must clear the decks to provide economic certainty and political stability. This is to what the people of Ireland are looking forward.

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