Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

The Government amendment contains no apology for the way the Government has landed the people in this mess. When the banks were giving out 100% mortgages over 30 years and suggesting there should be no interest repayments, Bertie Ahern was saying that everything was grand and people should belt away. The Government landed the people in this mess and gave them a false sense of security. The Government should acknowledge that and try to do something for the thousands of people in this mess at the moment. It should not be passed off as a bland issue that does not matter.

NAMA is having a significant impact on this because the Government is up to its neck in trying to bail out the banks and stabilise the financial system. The Government does not have funding to assist people in trouble right now because it is paying so much to stabilise the banks. That should also be recognised in the contribution by the Minister of State.