Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

To reflect the views of citizens the Fine Gael Party does not propose to hold hands across the Chamber during the debate on the economy. I ask the Leader to have an open debate. Last Thursday, Ireland officially entered a recession and yesterday the stock market crashed, losing 13% of its value in one day. These developments caused the Government to intervene this morning. If, God forbid, the Minister for Finance had decided last night to have another long lie-in, where would the stock market be this morning?

The crisis is of the Government's and banks' making but they refuse to accept responsibility for it. Ministers must come before the House for a long debate. There is no point in me speaking for a few minutes and Government Senators commending the Minister on his speedy response. The Minister responded before the stock market shut down completely and the economy went bankrupt. It was a case of falling asleep on the job, rather than responding quickly.

The House should have a proper debate with the Minister present to answer questions on his actions. Perhaps he read The Sunday Business Post at the weekend or received press releases from those who spoke of protecting depositors. On the other hand, he may be making up policy as he goes along. We need to know what is going on because the Minister and Taoiseach are not inspiring confidence in any of us.