Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Within five minutes, I am not good at speaking quickly, or even thinking quickly. There are, however a few things that need to be said. This Private Members' debate is excellent because it is relevant and timely.

The context, however, is important because it is not just what is happening to this country in the shadow of what is happening in Greece, Italy, Spain or Portugal, it is getting a handle on what has occurred in the developed economies in the last ten or even 15 years. There is an enormous mountain of debt and we have been talking about measured aspects and locations for what has been happening without understanding how the economies are financed, what their exposures and obligations are, and how the banking system and banks are like the electrical circuitry for the interaction of economies. These economies are all bust and the fuse board is continually being tripped as a result.

I recommend two books which every Member of the House should read. The first, Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, is by Michael Lewis and is written in a type of journalistic English which is easily understandable. It provides an updated position - it was published only eight weeks ago - on the scenarios that obtain across the globe, what has happened and what is likely to happen and how smothered in debt are the various economies. In that context, Ireland's economy is the one most smothered in debt. The second book, Endgame: The End of the Debt SuperCycle and How It Changes Everything, by John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper, is somewhat more complex in tone. Mr. Mauldin spoke at a conference in Kilkenny last week.

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