Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)

We would all have hoped that some sort of credible provision would have been made in the NAMA legislation to ensure that once the banks are bailed out, they would once again begin lending to indigenous businesses. That provision should have been at the very heart of this legislation and we should have seen a significant shift in the balance of power from the bankers to the Government. However, despite recent amendments, that shift of power has not taken place. In recent days AIB has chosen to defiantly ignore the wishes of the Government to appoint someone from outside the banking world to the position of chief executive, which shows once again how that change in the balance of power is not going to happen and never will happen, despite our best wishes.

I agree with Senator Harris's earlier assertion that we now have only one car to make the journey to recovery, but he is mistaken in believing that the Government was willing at any point to allow others to help to fine-tune the vehicle. It simply was not. It is that defiant, "We know best" approach that will ultimately lead to the Government's downfall. NAMA will not work. It represents a criminal plundering of the pockets of our people simply because our leaders do not have the courage to challenge those who brought us to this place nor the humility to accept the advice of those to whom we should listen. NAMA fails on the question of morality-----