Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

We all accept that today's budget must be comprehensive and credible, which implies fairness. I am glad to note the Government's signal that it will finally take the so-called bad bank route. However, a timetable in that regard is important. I understand that only an outline will be announced today, without details, to the effect that the Government intends to set up a State asset management company under the auspices of the National Treasury Management Agency. I hate to hear the phrase, "toxic debt" because while everyone accepts we have problematic property loans, unfortunately amounting to billions, in some of our major banks, thankfully we never went down the sub-prime route that has caused so much distress in the United States. Moreover, unlike a number of European banks, Irish banks never bought into that useless paper. I understand they did not become involved in that spread.

On foot of the delays experienced initially with the guarantee scheme and then with recapitalisation, which is in place for one major bank and hopefully it will be in place in respect of the other, we must speed up the bad bank or State asset management agency concept. There will be no stability within the banking system until that is in place, which will mean the requisite confidence in the economy will be lacking and without such indefinable confidence, we will not get the lift-off we seek.