Private Member's Debate 30.09.2010

Date: 30/09/2010
Posted by: Darragh

CONTRIBUTION FROM MY PRIVATE MEMBERS DEBATE, DÁIL EIREANN, SEPTEMBER 30TH 2010

Below is the unedited transcript and includes comments from opposition members.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: I will deal with the NewERA document in a moment. I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to the Government amendment to the motion which is about reality, work that is being done and consistency. It is ironic that not one Member from the Labour Party is present in the Chamber today. The Labour Party has effectively been absent from any economic debate in real terms because it has proposed no policies.

Deputy Tom Hayes: Fianna Fáil gave them pairs; they do not have to be here.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: We do not want to rake all that back up again.

An Ceann Comhairle: I ask the Deputies to refrain from engaging.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: I give Fine Gael some small degree of credit; from time to time it has come up with some policies and has backed some Government decisions. That cannot be said of the Labour Party, which treats the economic difficulties we have had and the banking crisis in particular as if there is an easy option.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy should tell us one of our policies the Government has taken on board.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: The Labour Party voted against the bank guarantee scheme and, unfortunately, Fine Gael saw fit to chase after Labour last night just as it is chasing after it in the polls. That is unfortunate because Fine Gael had brought some credibility to the discussion. People in the business community in my constituency and across the country tell me they want to see the Oireachtas trying to work together on dealing with the country's economic difficulties. Thankfully, the Government has taken the decisions in the past three years that have put us in a position where the economy is returning to growth. Deputy O'Donnell might laugh but his finance spokesperson would admit that he also pays no regard to the party's NewERA document, which he has effectively thrown in the bin and claims it was created by the party's press office. The Government is about stabilising the public finances which we have done, stabilising unemployment and creating jobs.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell: How much are we paying on the international bond markets today?

An Ceann Comhairle: Allow the Deputy to continue, please.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: Perhaps if the Deputy has been sitting in the Chamber this morning he is unaware that according to Bloomberg the bond spreads have come down as a result of this morning's announcement.

Deputy Paul Connaughton Wait until he sees where they are tomorrow morning.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell: Does the Deputy think that 6.57% is good?

An Ceann Comhairle: I ask the Deputy in possession to refrain from inviting a response.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: I probably should. There is no point in talking to them; they do not understand anything.

Deputy Paul Connaughton: The Deputy has a monopoly on wisdom, surely.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: The bottom line is that the Government faces major difficulties regarding the banking crisis. Today has brought closure and finality to that because there is certainty as to how that is being dealt with. Regarding the real economy, at every stage the parties opposite try to talk down the good work being done by our citizens. Some 1.9 million people are working in the country. In 2009, we brought in €19 billion in foreign direct investment, which equates to half of what the entire United Kingdom brought in. It brought in just short of €40 billion and we brought in €19 billion. Ireland is a good place to do business and unlike my colleagues on the other side of the House, I am very positive about the country's prospects for next year. Projections from many sources have been positive about our economic outlook including a recent Morgan Stanley report, published on 13 September, Peter Sutherland and the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn.

We had to be upfront in dealing with the banking crisis. If we had taken Deputy O'Donnell and his colleagues' approach of allowing the banks themselves to write down their debt, we would be still here in ten years time trying to figure it out.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell: If our approach had been taken, there would have been a good bank out of AIB rather than 90% of it being nationalised today.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: Deputy O'Donnell's magic bank proposal-----

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell: That has come at a cost of €7.2 billion of taxpayers' money.

An Ceann Comhairle: Deputy O'Donnell, please allow Deputy O'Brien to continue without interruption.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: There is no credibility in the magic bank approach among international markets and experts. Former Fine Gael economic experts even said this approach had zero credibility. The bottom line is that Fianna Fáil has moved the country on a course to ensure economic growth.

Deputy Michael Creed: Fianna Fáil broke it in the first place.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien: There were good economic growth figures in the first quarter but disappointing in the second. By the end of this year, however, the country will have returned to economic growth. Next year, there will be net job increases. It is important that all Members, regardless of party, do what they can to ensure jobs are created for the 460,000 people out of work. The slight decline in yesterday's live register figures is also to be welcomed.

The Government is there to make decisions, not just talk about what it would do. We are already setting the country on a course to recovery. With the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach, the country has turned the corner and has credibility in international markets.

I wish the Labour Party, whose Members are absent from the Chamber now, was more cautious about some of its public comments. It is simply lying to the public with the claim it has a silver bullet that can fix all of this through temporary nationalisation of the banks. That is simply not possible. If we followed such a course, all the moneys raised by Bank of Ireland in the private markets in recent months would have actually been taxpayers' money. The Labour Party has zero credibility. Unfortunately, because it is not telling the truth to the public, some people believe there is an easier option. There is not.

Thankfully, last night the Oireachtas decided to extend the bank guarantee scheme. Through the fees it charges, it has brought €1 billion into the Exchequer. The next scheme will be more costly for the banks. I, like all Members, have no truck with the banks. We all have had complaints about their practices. I have received many complaints about how AIB treats small businesses. The decision today to take a majority stake in AIB is important because it will ensure credit will flow to the SME sector. The Government has identified through Bank of Ireland and AIB €6 billion in working capital for the SME sector for the next two years which will be monitored by the credit review group, headed by John Trethowan. While the process may be a little slow, it is necessary. The indigenous SME sector employs over 800,000 people and we must do everything we can to support it. The Government has also brought in the employment subsidies scheme which protects more than 100,000 jobs and several other initiatives.

The Opposition parties have put forward initiatives as well. I hope during the framing of the next budget, they will put across their proposals and all parties can examine realistic policies that can be agreed by all. While I would expect that of Fine Gael, I do not expect it of the Labour Party.

Unemployment is the single largest issue. I speak as someone who had the experience of being out of work in the 1990s. We need to improve the market to enable growth. Our costs have come down and we are becoming more competitive. We will be able to attract necessary foreign direct investment. The Government must also ensure the indigenous SME sector is supported. Today's announcements on the banks have been welcomed by Europe and the bond markets. The country has funding until the middle of next year. This time next year, I believe we will be dealing with a much more positive situation in the economy.