Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

We find ourselves in a surreal position. In effect, we are being asked to guarantee loans to the tune of €100,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. We are now the lender of last resort for huge amounts of money and, if the reports are to be believed, even more money is flowing in from abroad. This is putting even more strain on the country's creditworthiness. Senator Ross is completely correct and if Senator O'Malley would listen to what I have to say, the issues may become clear to her. We are making Government borrowing more expensive because we will have to pay higher interest on Government bonds.