Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Senator Leyden may huff and puff, but this is a very serious issue. It is about Ireland's potential to create and retain jobs. It is about homeowners who come into offices every day and are struggling. They are afraid the bank will repossess their home.

The uncertainty over the potentially enormous cost of NAMA for all of us is one of the reasons we should reject NAMA as it stands. If we are asking the public to fund a bailout of the banks, the Minister should sketch a clear road map explaining the nuts and bolts of NAMA. We all accept that it has flaws and, to be honest, no one in this Chamber has the absolute answer. However, we are sent here to represent the people who want at the core of Irish life a banking system that is sound, trustworthy, accountable and transparent. In addition, it should allow credit to flow to small and medium enterprises, as well as to electricians, plumbers, painters and decorators. In that way, business people in Cork city would be able to get money to fund their overdrafts, pay workers and allow the system to flourish with job security at its core. This is not about political point-scoring but about getting the country working and retaining jobs. NAMA is not the only show in town because there is an alternative - Fine Gael's good bank-bad bank model which offers a solution. We all agree on the need for a well capitalised banking system but protecting the taxpayer must be at the heart of what we are doing.

I agree with Senator Norris that not one person has been condemned, convicted or put in jail.