Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. I share the passion of the Minister about where we are going. Essentially, we are releasing the value of State assets. So be it. That is the situation we are in. We borrowed a lot of money in this country and, as much as we would like to apply haircuts, it is not always appropriate. I am in business myself, and the only haircut I want is when I go into town to get one. I do not want any person with whom I am doing business asking me to take less money than I am owed because he or she made bad investments and used bad judgment. If he or she cannot pay me, I cannot pay my staff. It comes down to the basics in the end.

We have been left in a situation in which we must realise the value of some of our assets. Like any business, our priority must be to stay trading. I am not sure why those in the Opposition do not understand this. If we do not stay trading, we are gone. It is much better to live to fight another day, and that is what this Government is trying to achieve. I have had to do this, along with many other business people in this country. We have had to sell things we did not want to sell but we are still around to trade. Ten years is a long time, and in ten years' time we will look back and say that we got through the bad times and did so properly.

The Troika is in the country. Is it not amazing that we can actually say that? We do not have to pretend it is not here. I remember, only a short while ago, people trying to guess whether it was here. It is dealing with us in a constructive fashion. We are not hiding behind anything. According to a few articles I have read recently, it now considers us to be an example of how to get out of this mess, which is an achievement in itself. Of course everybody will not agree on the method of achieving it but the spirit is correct.

Investing in job creation is essential. As I looked around here today and saw the children in the Visitors Gallery, I thought about my own children, who are that age, and I hoped we could make this right, because what is at stake is their future. I doubt if they will care too much if we have sold a fraction of our State assets, as long as we are giving them a future in this country and allowing them to raise families as previous generations did before them. If we have to do that in order to keep them at home and give them a future, so be it.

Mistakes were made, as Deputy Fleming said. One thing mistakes have is consequences, and the consequences of the mistakes made in this country were massive. We cannot ignore these consequences, including increased unemployment and the mortgage and debt situation. It is atrocious. One of the difficulties is that the people who created this situation have not suffered enough. There are many people who should be ashamed of what they have done. Then again, there is no satisfaction in retribution; we need to move ahead.

As much as I would like to criticise NAMA, it is doing quite well. However, I would not sell all its assets immediately because to do so would crystallise losses. Let us sit it out and play the long game, as any business would, because as soon as one starts distress selling, one is gone. There is no more to lose. We have assets that will be worth a lot of money in time - maybe in five years or ten years - and we cannot just hand them over. In business, distress selling is the endgame, following which everything is gone.

The Government is selling portions of our State assets, although it will retain control of them. The semi-State bodies have proved their value over time and I am sure they will continue to do well. If we do sell them, so be it. In time, as the country recovers, we will develop other semi-State companies and move ahead. People must realise that all we are doing here is making sure we can trade profitably into the future. While the sale of assets may be repugnant to some, it is what happens in business every day of the week. At the moment, it is happening in a lot of small businesses, which are selling things they never would have considered selling before to make sure they can stay trading.

I commend the Minister for Finance on his approach. The way in which the Taoiseach, along with the Minister, is dealing with the Troika must be recognised. From now, Europe will realise it is dealing with people who are straight and are not hiding in the shadows.

See this speech in context