Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I do not interrupt anybody in the House. We had an unprecedented period of growth in this country over many years. All sides of the House at all times always called for more expenditure, more services and higher wages, even though pay and expenditure were being increased across the board. All of this was in a situation where money was available at 2% from the ECB at growth levels of 8% to 10% per year. There is no question about it; we overcooked the situation. The fact that we are in the eurozone means we do not have direct control over our own interest rates. Perhaps that did not help us at that time, although we are very lucky to be in the eurozone when one considers the overall picture.

There are many reasons to explain why this happened. There is no question that if we had the benefit of hindsight, there are certain things we would have done differently. The reality is that the Government operates in a real time environment. I am glad the Minister has introduced these various measures, such as the bank guarantee scheme, the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and the very thoughtful process with NAMA. One might say that the Second Stage debate on this has been ongoing since last July. That is to be welcomed because it has evolved through that period and improved. It will continue to improve this week and I welcome the fact that the Minister has made it crystal clear that he is more than prepared to take on board any constructive amendments or suggestions to make even better what clearly is a vehicle that has been met with much national and international approval.

NAMA is one of the most important initiatives the State has ever undertaken. It is vital it works. NAMA will purchase the land and the development loans of the banks at a rate and will be centrally managed over the years ahead. It is vital the people on the board of NAMA have absolute credibility. There is a great level of understandable anger among many members of the public at the pace of our decline, where we have gone from a surplus to a 12% deficit in two years. As a result of that, we are all seeking to get our pound of flesh. However, it would be foolish in the extreme if we sought, metaphorically or otherwise, to set up the guillotine on St. Stephen's Green and begin to line up every banker, developer, politician or otherwise who we know.