The Labour Party will review the entire Nama project when it gets into Government and institute a comprehensive inquiry into the banking crisis, party leader Eamon Gilmore has said.
Speaking at the opening of the party’s national conference in Galway tonight he said the party had made the right judgement calls at every stage of the banking crisis.
“We were the only party – the only party – to vote against the blanket guarantee for the banks. It was criticised at the time, but we have been proven correct, because it is that decision, that fateful decision, that has had the taxpayer on the backfoot ever since. Issuing that guarantee and including Anglo in it, has led to one policy disaster after another.”
He also said that the party was the first to call for temporary nationalisation of the banks which was not a popular stance, but the only way to minimise the cost of the banking crisis to the taxpayer.
“Again, we have been proven correct. Now the banks are being nationalised by default, but in a way that is slower, more expensive and more damaging to the economy”.
“We argued that the Nama business plan was a fantasy. Brian Lenihan has now effectively admitted that we were right, when he had finally had to admit that the bad loans he is buying are worth far less than he originally said,” added Mr Gilmore.
He maintained that what had happened was a gross betrayal of the Irish people by a party, so arrogant and intoxicated with greed that it had put the interests of the special interests, before the interests of the nation.
“And they have refused to allow the proper enquiry into the banking crisis that Labour has demanded, and that we have proposed in the Dáil. They refuse point blank to have their own actions subjected to scrutiny”.
“Let me be quite clear about this. Labour in Government will insist that there is a full and comprehensive enquiry into the causes of the banking disaster, including the events of September 2008 and the decision to give a blanket guarantee to all the banks, including Anglo. The public has a right to know the full story of why such a catastrophic decision was taken. Because we have to ensure that such a mistake never happens again”.
Mr Gilmore also insisted that Nama was a hugely expensive, wasteful and bureaucratic adventure which was becoming “a fee-fest” for some of the very people who were involved in creating this mess in the first place and was likely to contribute to on-going paralysis in the Irish economy.
“When Labour gets into Government we will review the entire Nama project. We may be bound by the legal agreements entered into by Fianna Fáil, but we will put Nama under a microscope of transparency. There will be no sweet-heart deals. There will be no safe haven for developers.”
Referring to the current British general election campaign Mr Gilmore said it was significant that British broadcasters had insisted on the inclusion of the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the televised debates.
”I now want to put Irish broadcasters and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on notice that we will be seeking a similar three way leaders’ debate for our own general election. Depending on what poll you read, there is no more than about twelve percentage points covering the support for Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour. This roughly similar to the spread covering the three main parties in the UK.”
He said that Labour would contest the next general election as an independent party seeking a mandate to lead the next government.
“The political landscape in this country has changed. Irish politics is now a three horse race and the Labour Party will not accept any attempt by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or RTÉ to relegate us into some sort of second division.
”We will use every measure possible to ensure that we are given an opportunity to put our case to the Irish people on the same basis as other parties,” said Mr Gilmore.
