Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the opportunity to make a few observations on the debate. It is obvious that this proposed tax is forced on us by the troika's programme, which has been designed to try to accommodate a workout for something we all know has been unfair. The losses of a banking system that went out of control have not been allocated to the people who funded them and that is the fundamental unfairness we are trying to address under forced circumstances in the programme designed by the troika.

There are a few ways to concentrate the minds of the people who have parked us in this impossible position. We know that the banking system has significant credit provided to it under the emergency liquidity assistance, ELA, provision. Approximately €50 billion has been provided directly by the ECB and an interest rate applies to that. While we may be forced to pass legislation that we do not relish, and certainly our citizens do not, there is a way of capturing the attention of the creditors. We might think about withholding 0.5% of the interest due on the €50 billion of emergency liquidity assistance. That would amount to €250 million a year, which is more than the €160 million the proposed household tax will generate. It is a way of underpinning the presentation of the justified arguments for debt restructuring for our country and getting attention in a nice, fair, commercial way because it links up the dots of how the ELA originated. It arose as a result of funding the exit of senior bondholders during the period that losses had not been acknowledged in the banking system.

While we may not enjoy passing this legislation, there have been honest efforts in the design of it. One can see the handcraft of the Government in a fairly honest effort to try to exclude local authority tenants and people living on unfinished estates. They are honest efforts to try to introduce fairness in a jaggedly imposed Bill, which has been forced on us by the troika. The way to get their attention and to show we do not like to be pushed around is to say we will withhold 0.5% of the interest charge on the ELA until the penny drops with them that the ELA, the creditor finance provided to the banks and the promissory notes on the balance sheet of the Irish Resolution Banking Corporation should be revisited justly and fairly. It is something to think about and I put it forward for the consideration of Members.

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