Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Some Members of the House should listen to the debates that take place in this House. Like other Senators, I am encountering people who are in distress because they are unemployed. They are trying to provide for their families in difficult circumstances. Many of them are over-leveraged and unable to meet the repayments on their personal debts. The least we owe them is to listen to each other and to debate these matters constructively. We have a duty not to over-hype the situation. I am glad some Senators on the other side of the House have said that the Government is doing everything it can to secure the best arrangements for this country. There is no doubt that a significant write-down in the quantum of debt is essential for this country. When this crisis broke in 2008, I was of the view that there was a need for an extension of the period for repayment and a reduction in the coupon. I think it is on the record of the House that I felt that might be sufficient. I know now that it is not sufficient. It is not acceptable to look ten or 15 years into the future in a way that will force two generations of Irish people, rather than just one generation, to emigrate and endure economic hardship.