Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Daly, who has been consistent in raising this issue. I thought the Taoiseach's statement was courageous but I was concerned to hear him backtrack under pressure from officialdom. Many of the economic and fiscal difficulties we are encountering arose because people within the public service were not giving the advice that was necessary and the politicians probably lacked the expertise or did not engage those with the appropriate knowledge to chart a proper way forward. The exposure to the taxpayer through NAMA is enormous and should it go wrong in any way it will have a negative impact on economic and fiscal recovery.

I ask the Leader if he was aware when we were debating the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 that the Department of Social Protection had opposed the introduction of the pension levy. That was pertinent information from which the House would have benefited. The leader of Fianna Fáil in the House, Senator Darragh O'Brien, and Senator Byrne, opposed the levy in light of its consequences. It is significant, therefore, that the Department took a similar position.

I ask that the Minister for Finance attend the House for a debate on the rescue package and the EU-IMF loan, with particular attention to the EU part because of the high interest rate that attaches to it. I am not impressed by the notion of a 1% decrease in the interest rate. It will not be a solution to the depth of our fiscal problems. As Michael Soden recently argued, we need long-term money over a loan span of 20 to 30 years and an interest rate which is marginally above the base rate. Unless the EU and the ECB make those structural changes not only Ireland-----