Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

The Taoiseach claimed the general election was a referendum on the EU-IMF deal and the four year programme put forward by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government. If that is the case, the people have spoken by resoundingly rejecting the deal and the programme of the previous Government. In that case, why is the Government pursuing exactly the same insane policies pursued by the previous Government?

Everyone knows the current policy cannot and will not work. Bailing out the banks to the tune of €105 billion effectively means 400,000 workers will pay taxes for their entire working lives to cover the cost of the bailout. In other words, 20% of the workforce will be enslaved for their entire working lives paying back the debt through their income tax.

The amendment refers to breaking the "massive dependence of the banks on the State" and the separation of "bank risk from that of the Sovereign". This is drivel, as the Government and international money lenders are well aware. Every time the insane step of pouring billions of euro into sovereign banks is repeated, the risk of sovereign default increases. The possibility of such a default raises major issues regarding the banks and markets. First, it will be impossible for the State to exit the EU-IMF deal in 2013 or 2014 and borrow at reasonable rates on conventional money markets. We will be forced into the 2013 EU bailout package which involves debt restructuring. This will expose Irish banks which hold €11 billion in Irish sovereign bonds and €11.5 billion in NAMA bonds.

Second, the banks are reliant on the State guarantee. Can the Central Bank maintain emergency liquidity funding?

Third, major questions arise regarding Ireland's ability to grow out of the current crisis. International patterns indicate that ten years of slow growth is the norm following a banking crisis. The point is proved by the ten years of zombie banking and economic stagnation experienced by Japan following its banking crisis. The only way to break the link between the sovereign and bank debt is by renouncing the private debt of the banks. We should establish a State banking system to take over the assets, boards and workforce, leaving the debts to those who took the risks in their chase for super profits. This Government came to power on a pledge to renegotiate the IMF-EU deal. Even the current Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, called it an obscenity. The Government came to power on a pledge to burn the bondholders and have burden-sharing. Now we are told that debate is over, but may I ask what debate occurred? Was it the Taoiseach's chat with Angela Merkel or Nicolas Sarkozy? Or was it the Minister, Deputy Noonan's, chat with Jean-Claude Trichet? Was that the debate? The way to have a debate is to put the matter to the people, which is why I support this motion. Let the people speak.

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