Dan Boyle (Green Party)

On the Order of Business these days I am not sure whether we are talking about the need for a rolling debate on opinion polls or on the economy. Today's opinion poll shows the trend that was shown in two previous opinion polls and takes a snapshot of how Irish people are thinking at the moment. This House and the other House are meant to try to anticipate, describe and respond to such public feelings. We should not be having government by opinion poll. I defy anyone in the Opposition benches to name, outside of the United States where there is a new President who has a lot of goodwill directed towards him, a country where there is a popular government dealing with the circumstances that exist globally at the moment. It would be hard put to find one.

Regarding the demands for a rolling debate on the economy, if we are to have such a series of regular debates in this House, we should define it by the different aspects of the economy, such as those that deal with employment, fiscal policy and taxation, so that once or twice a week we are dealing with different aspects of the concerns that exist about the economy.

There was news today of a possible private investment in Anglo Irish Bank. I understand it is at a very early stage, but it indicates there is still a willingness, despite the difficulties within the Irish banking system and problems caused internally within that system, for people to invest privately. We should take it as a sign of where we might be going on this issue. The Government and everyone in this House should look openly towards the sharing of the risk and the better management, over time, of the risks which exist in Anglo Irish Bank and other banks as we have difficult decisions to make over the coming months.