Dan Boyle (Green Party)

There is a possibility that legislation will be introduced in the Dáil today and this House will be called to examine it later. As it is likely to be on the content of the issue that exercised many Members on the Order of Business and in the debate to date, I would not like to contribute much to that until we have that debate. Given that we had been scheduled to debate the economy today, we should look at the wider applications and return to the issue of whatever Bill will be put before us later.

I was present on a radio programme last Sunday with Alan Dukes, the former leader of Fine Gael and Minister for Finance, who was introduced by the presenter as the last Minister for Finance who led this country into a recession. He quickly corrected the presenter by saying he was the last Minister for Finance who led this country out of a recession. I make that point because we can look at the same facts in different ways. The nature of politics and particularly the issue of economics within politics is subject to many interpretations.

As one who has been an Opposition spokesperson on finance since I was a Member of the other House and continue to hold that portfolio on behalf of my party, there are many things I have said since 2002 about which I do not take any joy on being proven correct. Our economy has suffered as much as many other western economies by an unhealthy belief in bubble economics, that because things were good that they always would be good and that what underlay the particular economic success had a sustainability into the future. We know now that is not the case and that a mythology has been built up not only here but elsewhere in the world about the nature of economics and the nature of wealth itself and we have to deal with the situation as it has transpired.

The reality of where we stand internationally has still to be worked out. Much of the Government's response is about dealing with many other governments and the day-to-day ramifications of what is happening elsewhere in the world. The decision of the US House of Representatives not to agree to its rescue package, whatever its rights and wrongs, indicates not only a financial system that is gone awry and whose influence in the world is far too heavy and has implications for all of us in other countries that should be less than what they are, but shows a political system that, as of now, is not willing to face up to that reality. I do not intend to get into political name-calling about the present political leadership of the US but it is clear that the lack of maturity in a country that has been a democracy since the late 1700s is impacting on the rest of us in a way that we need to take stock of and come up with our own common sense responses.

In regard to the specific issue exercising both Houses today, in a general way the approach being suggested is a more successful one. The US is proposing to get out of the hole it has dug for itself by buying toxic debts, the worst of the bad debts that exist from their financial institutions, debts that I believe are irredeemable and will never have a value again. The approach in the United Kingdom has been to buy each financial institution as and when those institutions get into difficulty, each of which carries a cumulative cost for their own taxpayers. The approach in Belgium and the Netherlands has been to adopt a bit of both — giving guarantees to one of its largest banking groups, the Fortis group, while at the same time claiming a significant shareholding in that bank. The Government's proposal — I do not believe it is a knee-jerk reaction — which people will see when legislation becomes available later today is one that has been given detailed consideration over a considerable time. The Bill to be put before Members later is weighty and detailed. It predates any changes that would have occurred as a result of falls in international stock markets and the actions of the US House of Representatives. On these grounds there must be recognition that an Irish solution to an international problem may be the one that actually works. In the first instance we must communicate the necessity to restore confidence within the economic make-up of this country.

One thing must be said about the economic growth generated in the past ten to 15 years. Much of that growth may have been built on sand and in economic terms there may have been too much emphasis on the construction industry, but the accumulation of the wealth instilled a national confidence and an ability to achieve an economic independence we did not have before. The difficulty in the present debate is the combination of factors which are largely global. If we succumb to a discussion based on lack of self-belief, the hole we are in will get deeper and much of what we gained through becoming a wealthy nation will be lost. I have an inherent belief in the ability of the Irish to achieve a valid society and economy. We should think not only of how we will get out of the current situation but how we can plan for a future in which there still is a strong Irish economy. It is stronger than many which are in difficulty and we should plan how it will become even stronger. The challenge for all of us as legislators is how we can use that strength for the benefit of the people.

Ireland has slipped into a technical recession. Our economy has decreased in value over the past year by 1% and the likelihood is that with current factors that it might go to 2.5% by the end of the year.