Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

There have also been references here to what I can only describe as classic back-of-the-envelope sums. A Fianna Fáil speaker referred to this development as investing €500,000 per job in the company but that is completely missing the point. The consequences of letting it go to the wall would be catastrophic and far-reaching. The State has obligations above and beyond the obvious comprehension of many of the Opposition contributors to this debate thus far. This responsibility extends beyond the safe-guarding of the company and its workforce. There are serious implications for the overall economy, Ireland's corporate reputation at home and abroad, and the knock-on effect on consumer and investor confidence. There is also the issue of protecting policyholders' security. All these factors must be taken into account when assessing the overall picture. It is of course much too attractive to have a few cheap shots at the Government and indulge in opportunistic populist rhetoric than to take the time to assess the wider picture, which is a luxury only afforded to opposition parties.

The most serious aspect of this debate is the necessity to learn from the dreadful mistakes that have led the State to this situation. There is ample evidence of poor regulatory practices in the series of events that led to the current difficulties in the Quinn group. One could go so far as to say that the regulatory practices were non-existent. I urge this house to work collectively on behalf of the Irish people, who deserve more than cheap populist rhetoric, to ensure an adequate regulatory system for the future in order to avoid this cycle repeating itself.

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