Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Coming back to where we are at as an economy, I have referred to home repossessions and joblessness, and Senator Healy Eames referred in her concluding remarks to the need for credit for businesses. These are fundamental matters, but to address them we need a plan. Every economist of any repute in this country has made it clear that the plan must address our competitiveness, which deteriorated during the period of unrivalled prosperity, the defective condition of our banks and the public finances.

The reason I took such exception to Senator Doherty's intervention was that he was one of the only Senators who suggested NAMA was a bailout for developers and builders. In fairness to the Seanad, no other Senator made that suggestion. Others made strong comments but none suggested that. The crisis in our public finances is far more profound than any crisis NAMA could possibly give rise to. Since last August, Senators and public commentators have talked about the dangers posed by NAMA for the taxpayer and the danger of their children being saddled with the burden of a potential exposure of several billion in ten years' time. However, all of these economic commentators and Opposition representatives are very reluctant to discuss the burden of the €22 billion of borrowing we must engage in this year.