John Gilroy (Labour)

My good friend, Senator Mac Conghail, was despondent about the fact that we are paying the bondholders of Anglo Irish Bank. I share his despondency and I do not think there is a person in Ireland who is not outraged that the country has come to the situation whereby we have to pay bondholders. Unfortunately, however, in other elements of the debate a deep dishonesty is being put forward. We must ask ourselves whether the Government has an alternative. Some people say there is an alternative but the Government believes it does not have one. Any alternative proposal must at least be sensible and not drawn from the patients of lulu land. The simplistic argument that some parties in this State are putting forward is scaring people for the sake of rabble rousing and scoring political points on this, the most serious of all the issues we face.

There is some evidence from Denmark to suggest that we have an alternative, although it is not very strong. In 2010, two banks, each of which was worth €1 billion, defaulted after failing to make their payments. Denmark has a very diversified banking system, with 148 lending institutions. The consequence of the default was a 10% increase in banking costs across the banking industry. This happened in a country that controls its own monetary policy and is not part of the common currency area. If we are to defend the opinion that we can default without consequence, I hope people will consider that example. If the interest rates for Denmark increased to 10%, one can imagine what would happen to borrowing costs in a country that is part of the common currency area with no control over monetary policy and an unhealthy banking system.

I seek a debate on economic policy and ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Finance to come to the House so that we can debate in a reasoned way and hold all the arguments, whether for and against the course of action we are taking, up to scrutiny in the cold light of day. I hope all Senators will at least have the courtesy and decency to acknowledge the complexity of the issue.