Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with the previous contributions towards the end of my remarks, but I start by acknowledging that this is a very important deal and the effort put in by the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform and the staff of the Department of Finance and the Central Bank in achieving it. It is only fair that this be done - a fairness lacking on the other side of the House on many occasions when it was required. However, we still have many questions to ask about the deal. While we are having this debate and there will be a vote at 2.30 p.m., there are questions that need to be referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. The Governor of the Central Bank needs to appear before the committee to address the technical aspects of the deal. He raised some concerns over the weekend during an interview on "The Week in Politics" about when the Central Bank would be allowed to sell the bonds and whether the ECB would insist on the bonds being sold when it wanted. There are issues that need to be teased out fully.

The Oireachtas is not in a position to lecture companies about the way they make staff redundant if we proceed without commenting on the way staff in the IBRC were treated and calling for action on their behalf. I do not agree with Deputy Patrick O'Donovan on much, but the majority of the staff in the IBRC were hardworking and had nothing to do with the way the country ended up. For them to hear on the news last Wednesday evening that their jobs were gone and to arrive at their desks on Thursday morning to see an email summoning them to a meeting was not fair and nobody can ever say it was. The Oireachtas needs to ask that their interests be addressed in the coming weeks because the vast majority had no role in how we got to where we were.

The IBRC liquidator has substantial powers. As he proceeds with the liquidation, a very vicious process, will some of the IBRC's assets be sold in order to expedit the process in the fashion of a fire sale, thus reducing the potential return to the State? What guidelines are in place? The Minister for Finance previously said:

NAMA and the IBRC are actively engaged in reducing their respective portfolio of debts and debtors. They are not in direct competition with each other for customers and resources.

Last September the Minister said it was not considered appropriate to merge the two agencies. What guarantees are in place following the deal to ensure no fire sale of assets will take place and that the maximum price will be sought for the assets because the money will go back to the State as opposed to what happens in a normal liquidation process, that is, to get the deal done and the money in to pay off as many bills as possible?

Under what circumstances will the Central Bank be permitted to exchange a portion of the new floating rate bonds for fixed coupon bonds?

In years to come, when many of us may not be in this House, the sale process will be important with respect to State resources and budgets.

I refer to the ongoing court actions being pursued by the IBRC against a number of individuals. These are very high profile cases which have been parked and the Commercial Court is looking for guidance. There is a need for clarification with regard to these actions.

For how long will the European Central Bank permit the Central Bank to hold the bonds until they have to be sold on the market? Is that a decision for the Central Bank or the ECB? In 16 to 18 years' time when the current actors will have moved on, what arrangements will be in place?

A number of Members referred to the issue of the overall banking debt. The effort devoted to achieving the deal needs to be applied to other challenges facing the economy. I refer to the plight of the 416,000 unemployed persons signing on every week. Their plight does not receive anything like the attention devoted to the deal and the banking debt. The effort devoted to securing the deal needs to be made to deal with unemployment.

There has been much talk about a community return. This would involve an investment of some of the money that might be saved. The Government states the deal will save money. However, that is uncertain in the long term. Some of the money needs to be invested in infrastructural and other projects that will create employment. In order to promote employment, it will be necessary to reduce the cost burden on Irish business.

Deputy Bernard Durkan is the Acting Chairman and as such, I respect his position. In his contribution from the floor he said the deal would provide an opportunity for the economy to grow. However, the economy will not grow unless people are able and companies have the ability to spend. The ability to spend will create more employment opportunities which will, in turn, create greater spending in the economy. The deal will enhance confidence in the economy, but we must be sure to use and manage that confidence in order that job creation will be well resourced and people encouraged to spend.

Deputy Patrick O'Donovan referred to the Beanoand Dandycomics in the context of some of the debates held. If any of the people in the Fine Gael press office ever needs a job, he or she could write for the Beanoand the Dandy, given some of the contributions made this morning. I remind Deputy Patrick O'Donovan of the independent survey which shows Fianna Fáil had the fifth highest attendance record at Council meetings during the period of office of the previous Government. Other Members - with respect to the Chair - complained that we had spent too much money in the 14 years we were in power. I remember at the time of the 2007 budget they all called the then Minister for Finance Scrooge because he was not spending enough money. I cannot say if the Acting Chairman said this, but many of his colleagues did.

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