NAMA is the biggest corporate welfare cheque ever written - Gilmore

Posted on November 12, 2009 at 03:07 PM

This afternoon the NAMA Bill finishes its journey through the house with the Government proposing to guillotine discussion on the Bill.

We are opposing the proposal to cut short the debate, not just for procedural reasons but because of the scale of the proposals.

During the Order of Business this morning in the Dáil the Labour Leader described NAMA as the 'biggest corporate welfare cheque ever written' even though we are told everyday there is no money.

Eamon said: "There is no money for the Christmas bonus, no money for child benefit, no money for paying wages, no money to help people in trouble with their mortgages and no money for initiatives to get people back to work but there is no shortage of money for the banks."

Eamon spoke of how €4b has been put into Anglo bank, how €7b has been provided for the Bank of Ireland and AIB and how according to the Government's business plan for NAMA, this exercise will involve overpayment for assets for another €7b.

"That amounts to €18b which would pay the Christmas bonus for 90 years and is equivalent to five times the adjustment in the public finances that the Minister will talk about in the Budget, which will cause everyone so much grief for the next number of years."

As ever Eamon's contribution has been recorded for our You Tube channel while you can read the full debate from the Order of Business on the Oireachtas website and we also want to hear your views, let us know in the comment section below.

Tagged with Finance • Social & Family Affairs