Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I was delighted with the speech this morning by the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, which is worthwhile reading, although very worrying. I commend Senator Butler on the proposals he has put forward, which he introduced at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party last Tuesday night. They were well received and they are being studied at the moment. That is what I call a positive contribution. The Seanad should be a think-tank. We should have regular discussions about ideas we can put forward about the current crisis that can be considered by Ministers in the Cabinet. All sides of the House have a contribution to make. If a good idea comes out, we should grab it with open arms. That is the advice I would give.

The Exchequer deficit of €7.9 billion is a frightening figure. I have a suggestion to make to the Minister today. Many of us benefited from the special savings account scheme initiated by former Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy. I suggest the State should issue a reconstruction bond to the value of at least €10 billion. The Department has a list of the people who benefited from the SSIA scheme. Many of them spent the money but many did not. Many people have quite sizeable funds available to them and we should not put on the poor mouth all the time. The Minister could institute a pension scheme for repayments so that it would not involve interest alone. If a person had no pension scheme at his or her disposal, this national reconstruction bond could be used as both funding for infrastructure and as a pension fund for those who would wish to contribute. That would be repaid on a weekly basis at age 65. It would remove the immediate burden and by that time the economy should have improved dramatically. That is one of my recommendations to the Minister.

I suggest the Government conduct a sale of the century of local authority houses. We should sell them at the lowest possible price to raise as much money as possible and to reinvest it in further house purchase. We have a golden opportunity to use those empty houses, bought at rock bottom prices by the State, and so resolve the housing issue once and for all. This is an opportunity that will not come again.

In counties such as Roscommon there are literally hundreds of houses built and finished that can be bought for in the region of €100,000 to €150,000. This opportunity will not arise again. I speak from my former experience of working in the architectural side of the building industry. If those houses are not occupied quickly, harsh winters will cause them to deteriorate. Even when our own homes are well heated, they deteriorate in time. Many houses will be demolished unless something is done. Many have windows and doors boarded up. My advice to those who have not plastered those houses is to plaster them at least and make them secure. The Cathaoirleach will also have knowledge of this field. During a time of crisis in the 1980s local authority houses were sold. Tenants were given the option of buying their houses and given credit for the rent they had paid. This would bring in a considerable sum of money and give people great support and loyalty to and a sense of pride in their own homes.

I welcome the appointment of the overseers who are very wise and experienced people from all sides of the political field. The calibre of the appointees should be recognised. I refer to our former colleague and Minister, Mr. Ray MacSharry. Irish Permanent TSB has not dropped its interest rate today even though the European Central Bank dropped the rate by 0.75% yesterday.

I met a Dublin retailer last night who informed me that she is paying the highest rate possible and that there is no concession from Irish Permanent TSB. I wish to declare an interest in Irish Permanent TSB, but that is not the point in this particular case. I ask Ray MacSharry to find out the situation. I have asked the lady to send me the details. She does not want to be identified because she is afraid of repercussions. She is paying way above the rate, with no reduction, in spite of the recent reductions, even though she has a variable mortgage. She told me she has a retail business in Dame Street and the business is going badly at the moment as the retail trade is in a very difficult situation.

To add to what Senator Butler said, there are 3,300 national schools in the country and only 18% of those schools have hot water. I made a proposal that solar heating should be installed. This would show the young people what can be done with solar energy and it would provide hot water for staff and pupils. Only about 40% of secondary schools have hot water. This is a clear opportunity for those trade skills. Small rivers may have old turbines which are disused. I call on Deputy Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, to do something about that as he is a Green Party Minister. I would like to see solar panels and the use of wind energy. We can manufacture turbines in this country. Denmark is nearly fully reliant on wind power. We have more wind power in Ireland than anywhere else in the world but we are not using it. I suggest the establishment of a Cabinet action group comprising three or four Ministers with economic portfolios who will do something. The Government might not get it right all the time but it should not stand aside. There is nothing to fear but fear itself.