Rónán Mullen (Independent)

We are all familiar with the legend of the boy who cried wolf. The problem with him was that he cried wolf when the wolf was not coming. When the wolf did come, people did not believe him. The frustration in this House this morning is because we are encountering the case of the boy who cried wolf in reverse. The Government, perhaps in good faith, has been playing the confidence game and has been reassuring us that we have turned the corner, that we are funded up to next June and that certain developments will not occur. Each time there is news, it is worse than we have been led to believe. As a result, it is no longer possible to play the confidence game because people are frustrated. Each time they have been reassured, the reassurance has proven to be without grounds.

In playing the confidence game, the Government may well have been acting in good faith because it is beyond dispute that it was lied to by the banks. When it gave the guarantee late September 2008, it was certainly lied to by them. There is now much more light being shed on the real problems. NAMA has acquired some loans from the affected institutions at 40% of their face value.