Enda Kenny TD, Weekly Message, 1/4/10
Dear Member,
You will, of course, be aware that this week was dominated by the NAMA Debate. The staggering scale of the country’s debt was revealed and the figures are absolutely incomprehensible. The amount the Irish people have been asked to put into Anglo alone now totals €40 billion – with no results of the investment evident.
On Tuesday, I asked the Taoiseach to confirm if this latest mountain of taxpayers’ money will be the last injection of cash for Anglo. I cannot say I was surprised that he declined to answer me. Brian Lenihan said that this latest €8.3 billion is merely ‘the current estimate’ clearly leaving the way open for even more money
to be pumped into this black hole.
It has become very clear that the bailing out of the banks is Fianna Fáil’s priority – not job creation or looking after the needs of children and the elderly. Brian Lenihan was very quick to blame senior figures in Irish banking, saying that the banks engaged in what he called ‘reckless property development lending.’
Fianna Fáil will accept no responsibility for this mess whatsoever. Of course, it goes without saying that bankers must take some responsibility here, but people want to know why the property bubble was allowed to continue when the damage that was being done was increasingly obvious. The Taoiseach was formerly Minister of Finance and is now leader of this incompetent, careless, mismanaging Government.
In his Dáil statement, the new figures were cleverly delivered by the Minister, but shrouded in financial language in an attempt to ensure that they passed over the heads of the vast majority of people in this country who will not realise their impact until the next wave of pay cuts and tax increases become evident. The Taoiseach has said repeatedly that he will write whatever cheque necessary and he is certainly not shy in writing them for Anglo and forcing the taxpayer to pick up the bill, time after time. These cheques come out of your pocket.
The Taoiseach had a choice between paying for the bad, reckless management systems of Anglo Irish Bank or putting the money to some other use, such as the NewERA programme, which was costed and put forward by the Fine Gael Party last year. This would result in the creation of 100,000 jobs in the areas of renewables, broadband, water services and the delivery of telecommunications. It was an opportunity to ensure the provision of real jobs with real money, but the money was instead dismissed into the black hole of Anglo Irish Bank. That is the choice the Government made.
Anglo Irish Bank has proven to be a cancer, eating away at the public’s pay packets. It has links to the disruption of Quinn Direct and it is a fact that persons on the board of Anglo Irish Bank were also on the board of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which had consequences for the Irish Glass Bottle site.
Our National debt has now effectively doubled, with no apology from the Government for its mismanagement. The Government have presented every family in Ireland with a bill for €50,000 for reckless actions that the people did not cause and were not responsible for. This will cost €2 bn every year in interest over the next 10-15 years. It will not create a single job. Think of what that could do for schools or health services; the Government have not even said ‘sorry’ to the people for this economic catastrophe.
Also this week, the Fine Gael Motion to freeze cuts to special-needs schools was rejected. On Tuesday, Fianna Fáil voted to transfer €8.3 bn into Anglo; on Wednesday, they voted to take away 1,200 special needs assistants from children who need them. It is clear that this Government’s priorities are very wrong indeed.
I am hoping to spend some of the Easter break in training for Mayo Pink Ribbon 100 km Cycle on May 1. The purpose of the Mayo Pink Ribbon Appeal is to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness in conjunction with the National Breast Cancer Research Institute, based in Galway. The 100 km cycle will take in numerous Mayo towns and villages. Saddle sore but worth it! More information is available on their website, www.mayopinkribbonappeal.com
We had a great turnout for the FairCare meeting in The Sligo Park Hotel on Monday night. On Tuesday, I had to remain in the Dáil for the vote on the banks and was forced to miss the Mullingar meeting. Despite the bad weather, a good crowd turned up and the team were very glad to get our message across.
On Sunday, I will attend the Easter Rising commemoration ceremony at the GPO and I would like to wish every one of you a very enjoyable and peaceful Easter.
Kind regards
Enda Kenny, TD
Leader of Fine Gael
