Sean Barrett (Independent)

I welcome the Minister and I thank him for his contribution. The IMF was a vital institution following the war when architecture was needed to prevent a repeat of the 1930s and, as Senator D'Arcy said, this also included the World Bank, the UN and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Most of these bodies served us well and there were no reruns of the Second World War. The IMF had an important role and Irish people played a significant part. I recall my own colleagues, Professors John Bristow and Alan Tait, working for the fund to help other countries, which the organisation went into by invitation. However, they were demonised, as the Minister of State said. In recruiting graduates from our department in Trinity College Dublin, the IMF chose the top people and it therefore built up expertise in economics, which plays a valuable role.

The reduction in the interest rate referred to by the Minister of State and the change in the organisation's remit to give developing countries whose economies are expanding rapidly a better say in how the IMF runs itself are welcome. Senators have referred to the fund's presence in Ireland. It is of huge value to us. Mr. Chopra has become a national figure who is widely liked. The IMF representatives have given us breathing space. What on earth would we have done if they had not come in? However, more important, as the Wilson report showed, the Department of Finance was short of economic expertise and it was valuable to have the IMF delegation present. I hope we will continue to avail of that expertise when the rescue period is over.

Senator Mooney and others wondered whether Keynesianism is applicable in a small, open economy, because many economists doubt it. I am not sure that the troika was correct in its criticism of the Government's capital programme because we need to develop capital investment appraisal techniques. I would establish a central office of project evaluation, COPE, and then put projects through the House to establish whether they were worthwhile. We had such a record of not investing in good capital projects and running up capital debt that the Government was correct. If the IMF thinks we should do more, the corollary is it should assist us in developing appraisal techniques, which should be published well in advance in order that we can judge whether a project is right.

When the IMF representatives visit Dublin, they should relate more to Parliament. Members have asked the Leader to invite them to the House. There are 42 new Senators and 77 new Deputies in this Oireachtas and it is important that the fund brings them on board. They are dealing with faults in public administration, including hopeless bank regulation and faults within the Department of Finance. Bringing the elected representatives on board would, therefore, be a major development.

Ireland experienced regulatory capture in that the banks undoubtedly got hold of the Exchequer on 29 and 30 September 2008. Have the IMF representatives ideas on how to prevent that happening again? Keynesianism in Ireland has built up a large, powerful bureaucracy. When the Government Chief Whip took a debate in the House, he stressed the importance of the Central Statistics Office and its independence and professionalism. Do we need a Government economics service, which would be both professional and independent?

According to the troika document released earlier, the Government needs to beef up competition policy. Measures have been introduced to address sheltered sectors, including one passed by the House last week to open up GP lists to new doctors. However, large sections of the economy have become sheltered, including airports and health insurance. It is strange that the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport seemed to think it a good idea that between 16% and 23% of taxi drivers might leave the industry. The deregulation of the industry was a successful policy and the Government needs to be more in touch with how economic policy works because mistakes were made. For example, there is a fiscal responsibility Bill on the Order Paper, which must be taken.

I support the IMF and the reason I was looking through the Minister of State's speech was to find even more supportive things to say to him and about him, and that has been remedied. The organisation has performed a valuable role and Irish people have played an important part in the secretariat and in providing economic expertise. The fund's staff provided an important input as we looked into the economic abyss a few years ago. They have steadied the ship and we should value their ideas on how we grow and their provision of economic help and expertise, which was highlighted in the jobs plan announced yesterday. The Minister will have his Bill long before the October deadline and I wish him well in that endeavour.