Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

We hope it will give the kind of confidence in the economy that will safeguard our banking sectors and jobs and create a new economic dynamic. As we have seen in recent months, there is now considerable uncertainty in the world economy and in world finance. That magic ingredient, confidence, is not always present when we have expected it to be. There is no absolute guarantee that this step will work in the way we hope it will. We wait and see. The Government must take several actions which it has not taken in previous years. Regulation and management have been sadly lacking in overseeing our public finances.

Take, for example, the property bubble where warnings were received month after month up to the 11th hour. Under the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern and the former Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, the Government supported the bubble and said there was no problem right up to the 11th hour. There has been much criticism of the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank but they were influenced by what the Government said about the property market and the state of the economy. The Government questioned anyone who raised concerns about that property bubble.

Senator Donohoe spoke very well about the challenge the Minister has in the weeks and months ahead, given the powers he has appropriated in this legislation. The Minister will be required to report back to the House about that action and about the type of regulatory function and discipline which he must show.