Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I also want to refer to the one-year extension to be given by the European Commission for Ireland to get its structural deficit in order. It has had to adopt measures amounting to €4 billion in each of the three years, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and €3 billion in 2013 and now that is being extended because of the shortfall in tax revenues this year, which have further worsened the position.

I draw a totally different conclusion to Senator O'Toole who referred to this matter earlier. I do not believe it is possible to put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. It is a cop-out to believe we can prolong this situation before taking action. The budget deficit guidelines from the European Union have been very important for good economic management. It is clear that this and previous Governments since 1997 cannot manage the economy. When we adhered to the Maastricht treaty criteria in the 1990s, we laid the basis for the Celtic tiger but when the European Commission attempted to reprimand Ireland for exceeding budget deficit guidelines while Charlie McCreevy was Minister for Finance, it was told where to go. The lid was taken off expenditure and that was the beginning of the problems we face today. We must pay strict attention to the EU guidelines and follow them, otherwise we will end up in perpetual penury.

Although we have begun our debate on NAMA, we are none the wiser. There is no clarity on valuations, the key issue dealt with in the Bill, or on the burden sharing, a requirement under EU guidelines. When we adopt these measures this week, I will rely on the Europen Commission to see through the charade and fiction of NAMA. The programme outlined in the business plan is not in accordance with EU guidelines. The Commission will find serious flaws in the detail of the plan.

I was shocked by the Minister's forecast of a profit. He said he had told us it was going to break even but deciding that it was better to be positive, he included a projected profit figure.