Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The House passed the NAMA Bill yesterday with the support of some Independent Members. My party remains deeply concerned about the implications of the legislation for every man, woman and child in the country because of the major impact the potential debt arising from it could have on people's experiences and the risk to the taxpayer. Therefore, we remain deeply concerned about aspects of the NAMA legislation.

I join everyone else in expressing delight at the release of Fr. Michael Sinnott who was held in captivity in the Philippines since 11 October. It was joyous to listen to his strong interview this morning on "Morning Ireland". It showed great strength and his willingness to continue the work he has been doing for many years. I hope his health holds up and that his tough ordeal will not prove too demanding on him.

We need further debates on some of aspects of the NAMA legislation on which we touched yesterday such as whether the NAMA model contains a social dividend, negative equity, the pressures on some families with mortgage arrears and the need for strong and tough Government action with lenders. An interesting discussion about social democracy and christian democracy also took place. The point is, however, that it is not about any theory of democracy but what practical action can be taken by the Government to help the 420,000 unemployed. In that regard, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment must attend the House for a useful debate on competitiveness and its attendant issues. The debate must include the move from welfare to work. The welfare system needs to be examined critically at this point because we cannot just leave people in the dole queues. We must discuss creative ways of moving from welfare to training and employment. It has gone beyond the time for such a debate. So much time was given to the NAMA legislation which was and will continue to be needed, but there must be a debate soon about tackling unemployment and restoring competitiveness to the economy. We must examine the detailed steps we need to take to make a difference to the lives of the 420,000 people in the dole queues.