Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

There have been occasions at Easter time when our country has shown its best side. Frequently at such times, we have dealt successfully with the events of the day, but also put in place a map to deal with future challenges.

What must be tackled in our economic system is the point touched on by Senator Healy Eames, that is, what is occurring with the magnitude and extent of bad debt in our banking system. While our movement into recession was very sharp, our exit from recession could be very prolonged and take a good deal of time to achieve, unless we tackle this issue. Banks will not be willing to lend and consumers will not be willing to spend. I hope in today's deliberations and the statements from the Minister for Finance that he finds time to address this point, because whatever achievements are made on the taxation and spending side of the balance sheet, we will not get the credit we need from them unless we deal with the same issues in our banking system.