John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I share the concern about the situation in the sugar beet industry and I call for a debate thereon. Greencore will gain from this situation as it still holds the value of the assets of the land banks in Carlow and Mallow and the value of the brand of Siúcra. That will be significantly enhanced by virtue of the fact it will be able to import cheap sugar and will not incur the cost of production. However, the workers and the growers must be looked after. The Minister should bring together the principals concerned and perhaps through cash and a share issue, Greencore might adequately compensate the workers and the growers.

I also call for a debate on the significant influx of funding into the people's pockets this year when the SSIAs mature which will amount to €15 billion. In addition, there will be the €2 billion in moneys already saved plus perhaps another €2 billion in the windfall from Irish Nationwide. This reminds me of the American Senator who said that the American arms industry costs a billion dollars here and a billion dollars there and that pretty soon it adds up to serious money. In this case, we are talking about up to 15% of GDP entering the economy in one year. That excludes the repayment capacity people have proven to the banks, which will allow a significant amount extra to be borrowed on the strength of showing how much people can save.

As we no longer set our own interest rates, we need a debate to discuss alternative arrangements for the investment of the lump sums, continuous savings plans and consumer protection measures. We can ensure the consumer is protected but we must do it now because otherwise the consumer might face difficulties with so much money coming into the economy in such a short space of time.