Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Yesterday, legislation was introduced for the biggest economic policy decision taken in this State. As Senators will have seen, this was done in a chaotic manner as the introduction of the Bill was repeatedly subject to delay. While the Fine Gael Party supports the legislation, it is cautious about many of its aspects.

I am concerned by the tone of some of the debate on this issue. For example, I have heard Ministers and others state that the legislation only provides a guarantee. I caution against this type of thinking because providing a guarantee to the banks for such a substantial amount of money is not without risk. My party and some commentators have spoken about this issue. There is a risk that borrowing costs will increase. We also hear the banks may have bad debts of up to €80 billion. The amount effectively being underwritten by the taxpayer has been estimated at between €100,000 and €200,000 per man, woman and child in the State. The sums of money involved are enormous.

If parents decide to act as guarantor for a young adult taking on a mortgage, they consider the matter very carefully. They know their child and weigh up the risks. The State, in taking this decision, is effectively guaranteeing the family home of the economy. The questions Fine Gael has asked relate to what regulation will be introduced and how we can guarantee the banks will not behave in a similar manner again by lending money to property developers to buy land at inflated values. Many people are concerned that we might see this sort of practice in the banks again, which would make it even more difficult for the first-time buyer. We must be very careful about this oversight and need to hear from the Government about the type of regulation that will be put in place because it is clear, as I said yesterday, that the regulations that were in place have not worked.

Some Members, including Senator Ross, have been speaking about this for a long time. Do we know the banks well enough, as well as a parent knows his or her child, to be giving this sort of guarantee and what sort of safety net can we build in for this economy? I welcome the fact that the legislation probably will be before the House later this evening and that we will give it the utmost scrutiny.

On a related point, a story is carried in the newspapers today on an issue we discussed in the House on a number of occasions, namely, the M50. Up to 20,000 people have received fines and notices that they should not have received. This concerns the use of a bridge that has not been managed well. We are now talking about the management of our entire banking system. There are many lessons the Government has to learn about management, as we have seen from the many decisions it has taken in recent years. We have had very poor management and very poor oversight——