Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dick Roche. I congratulate him as one of the personalities who helped galvanise the voters and bring about a successful referendum on the Lisbon treaty. We are over that hurdle and I commend him on the work he did in that regard. His unique personality helps us win such major competitions and keep us on the road to recovery.

It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to talk about the National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009. This Bill is central to the economic recovery of this small country and must be finalised to allow the Government move on with the business of running the country. As a business woman, supporting enterprise and job creation are my principal concerns. Since 2000, Ireland has been losing ground in terms of international competitiveness. National income is declining rapidly and unemployment is rising sharply. NAMA has a key role to play in resolving this issue of credit availability.

Export-led growth is a key part of any long-term strategy to maintain living standards and secure long-term prosperity for the nation. The issue of access to credit for small and medium enterprises has been raised repeatedly with me at meetings with business organisations such as the Small Firms Association, SFA, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises, ISME, and my nominating body, the Irish Exporters' Association. The problem assets on the banks' loan books must be dealt with. Then the banks, it is hoped, will be able to attract the resources to resume sensible lending to enterprise.

We have seen negative growth in private sector credit in almost all sectors. The volume of new business and personal credit loans is down considerably. Irish banks rely heavily on financial institutions abroad for funding and the uncertainty surrounding the scale of losses on the banks' balance sheets has made this funding more difficult and costly to attract. Thankfully, Jean Claude Trichet and the European Central Bank are standing shoulder to shoulder with us. Businesses must be assured that the banks will be given formal and specific direction as to what is expected of them. The banks should be extremely grateful for the continued support of the citizens. In return, they are expected to provide appropriate credit to businesses to protect and create employment.

NAMA will only succeed if it results in increased lending to viable businesses. It is in everyone's interest that we move quickly to repair the banking system and restore the flow of credit throughout the economy. Unless this happens, the economy will stagnate and there will be no recovery. It is essential that the Government and banking sector work together to ensure credit to business is fully restored. In this regard, transparency and robust oversight of NAMA's activities are vital to ensure taxpayers' interests are safeguarded.

The Government is not complacent about the significant increase in job losses. It is striving to enhance our competitiveness so that demand for labour improves. It is also important that we bring stability and sustainability to the public finances to facilitate confidence internationally in the economy. NAMA must be finalised as quickly as possible and without further distraction. It is up to the Government and Fianna Fáil to lead from the front and restore our economy to a growth economy.

I would prefer it when speaking nach mbeadh na daoine ar an taobh eile den Tí ag caint ag an am céanna. I find it very distracting.