Shane Ross (Independent)

What would a prospective investor outside Ireland — we have to impress these people at the moment — make of the Irish people going on general strike when faced with the greatest economic crisis they have ever come across? What is proposed is complete and utter economic madness and suicide.

I agree with Senator Regan that the trade unions must make an unconditional declaration they will not have a strike of any sort next Monday. At least they can wait for the budget. Everyone knows they will have an input into the budget. Everyone knows talks go on with the social partners before and after budgets, whether they are open or secret, and there is huge influence.

What in the name of God are the unions attempting to do in trying to destroy the fragile economy of this country next week? I do not understand this. The airports will be closed. What message is that going to send to people outside Ireland? Aside from who would invest in such a country as this anyway, when they see we are going on general strike and the country is strike ridden, they certainly will not do so.

The proposed strike is national vandalism. I appeal to the unions to call it off today and not to start playing brinkmanship with this. The only people who will be destroyed are their own members. More jobs will be lost as a result of the action to be taken next Monday. The economy of the country will suffer and it is in no situation to do so.

There is a second matter of which the House should be aware, and perhaps the Leader will enlighten the House on the matter or arrange a debate on it. I attended the meeting today of the Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs. There was even more disturbing news at that committee than what we are used to. A former auditor from Allied Irish Banks made a statement which carries a credibility which I believe we can trust. He claimed that he warned the then Financial Regulator, that is, the Financial Regulator before last, about the over-charging in the banking system and that this was comprehensively buried by the regulator. What we are seeing is not just that the current system of regulation is not working but also that the past system did not work. He said he not only produced information on the over-charging, which was not released but was deliberately buried and, indeed, concealed, but he also produced information to the regulator about the most extraordinary shareholder dealings in offshore tax havens. The regulator was apparently very shocked about it when the auditor spoke to him but he did absolutely nothing about it.

There is no credibility left in the financial regulatory system in Ireland and there has not been for a long time. Damage is being done abroad not just in terms of financial regulation, where these revelations are sensational, but also by the dangers of the strike which we face next week. We must cop ourselves on and take urgent action on both issues to restore what is left of international confidence in this country.