Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I remember sitting in this House nearly five years ago and the blanket agreement to bail out our banks, which turned out to be probably one of the greatest mistakes any Minister for Finance has made. It showed that after 14 years, the then Government was more interested in winning elections than dealing with financial issues. We had an election less than two years ago. This country fell over a financial cliff. Industries, businesses and families have suffered because of years of what was effectively misappropriation and because the country's finances were not dealt with. People in my town and constituency who were once involved in business and creating wealth and jobs are now bankrupt. There is a trail of destruction across our society. Young couples are in negative equity or are out of work and without hope. Tens of thousands of our brightest and best, namely, our young people, are emigrating to the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

This deal on the resolution of the promissory note delivers on our commitment to put in place a fairer and more sustainable arrangement than the promissory note. Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, which have been toxic institutions, have been removed from the financial and political landscape. Most important, the deal gives hope. It will give hope to the tens of thousands of young people who will want to come back to this country. They have been away for two years. It will create the climate in which they will be able to come back, start up their businesses and work in this country. I hope they would come back with significant expertise. Some of them have made money and this Government must ensure that they can thrive and prosper.

I thank the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister of State with responsibility for Public Service Reform and the OPW for the work they have done. We must also thank John Moran and his staff in the Department of Finance and many other civil and public servants who work in the service of this State because their service to this State should not go unnoticed. They did more than they were paid for but they respected confidentiality. In the annals of time, they can hold their heads up high for the public service they delivered to the State. The work carried out by the Department of Foreign Affairs was magnificent. This did not happen overnight. I read a report in a newspaper last Sunday that described the work the went on and it brought a tear to my eye. I felt for once that this Government was providing hope and that much of the heavy work has been done. We are providing a future.

The State will no longer have to pay €3.1 billion at the end of every March and we will not have to make the principal payment until 2038. If somebody gave me €1,000 to invest in my business to keep it going and told me that I could pay €10 per year for the next 40 years and would only have to pay back €1,000 after 40 years, I would think that the greatest deal ever. There should be some generosity out there. When I was in opposition, I thanked the Government when I felt it made the right decision and took it to task when I felt it was making the wrong decision. Politics is not about opposing everything, rather, it is about working together. Let us admit that this is a good deal, not for the Government, Fine Gael or Labour but for this country. I hope we can work together to ensure that we provide the right climate. Many of these businesses will never come back. Perhaps they were living in a different world but we must provide the climate that allows the young people in Australia, Canada, the US, England and Ireland to have a future.

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