I want to raise with the Taoiseach the concern about the deterioration in the protection and securing of jobs. Is the Taoiseach aware of how urgent this problem is and of how much an emergency it is for thousands of small businesses? We were told a litany of falsehoods by the Government. We were told the bank guarantee would be the cheapest bail-out possible, that Anglo Irish Bank would be restored as a creditworthy institution, that the Bank of Ireland and AIB would return a dividend to the taxpayer and that NAMA would prevent bank nationalisation while providing a wall of cash for businesses.

From reports from Mazars, UCC and the Central Bank, however, it is obvious thousands of small businesses are going to the wall, even as we speak. No time can be lost as this is far too urgent and serious. The real position is that we have no NAMA, no credit, no dividend and soon we will lose thousands of more jobs. The recent UCC report shows 60% of small businesses have been refused credit. Every Deputy has evidence of small businesses having their overdrafts cut by 50% and having to reduce staff. Credit is drying up before our eyes.

The Taoiseach and his Ministers gave us a litany of falsehoods over the past 18 months since this crisis began. On behalf of the thousands of employers struggling every day to hold on to their employees and attempting to invest in creating new business, I want to know from the Taoiseach the Government's plan to allow credit be extended to businesses as a matter of urgency.

It is agreed by everyone with knowledge of the area, at home and abroad, that the question of the establishment of NAMA is an essential part of any recovery strategy for this country. We await EU state aid agreement on that and we expect it in the coming weeks.

Regarding the question of how we maintain jobs in this economy, we have made it clear through the budgetary strategy that we will continue to make this economy more competitive, we will continue to put our public finances in order and we will continue to assist businesses through the various initiatives we have instigated, such as the stabilisation programme, to ensure that we can bring forward a situation where this country will continue to recover during the second half of this year. That is our strategy and we are determined to do it. That is the direction in which we are going.

Regarding the continuous introduction by Deputy Kenny of every negative and exaggerated opinion he can bring to this House, on every occasion he seeks to suggest at home and abroad that this country does not have such a strategy but it does.

The Taoiseach should look at every street in the country. Every shop is closed.

I fundamentally disagree with the response of the Taoiseach. Fine Gael has proposed a series of positive initiatives that demonstrate that things should not be this way and there is so much that can be done. The Taoiseach told us NAMA would provide a wall of cash and that the investment of €7 billion in the banks would provide a dividend to the taxpayer. The Taoiseach told us Anglo Irish Bank would be restored as a creditworthy lending institution. None of these things has happened and the strategy, after 18 months, is not working.

I understand it is the intention of the Government to borrow a further €6 billion to put into Anglo Irish Bank. The Government will invest €6 billion in what is effectively a dead bank. I ask the Taoiseach to break out of the Fianna Fáil straitjacket he is locked into and adopt the Fine Gael policy in respect of Anglo Irish Bank. It should be broken up into a good bank and a bad bank and the bad element should be allowed to work itself out over a period of years——

At what cost?

——so that bond speculators and investors can take some of the pain and so that the Taoiseach can guarantee that any extra taxpayers' money, borrowed or otherwise, to go into the good element of the bank will be used for the productive purposes of securing jobs, maintaining jobs and expanding businesses. Will the Taoiseach promise that he will not have his Government borrow a further €6 billion to pump into Anglo Irish Bank and that he will break up the bank into a good bank and a bad bank as Fine Gael proposed through Deputy Richard Bruton almost 18 months ago?

The Government is a beaten docket.

On a number of occasions the Minister for Finance has brought forward the strategy we are adopting with regard to Anglo Irish Bank, which is now nationalised, and Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks. Over the coming weeks the comprehensive strategy will be brought to the House for a decision. It will be based on the continuing effort by him to improve and strengthen the banking system because it is necessary for a recovery strategy to have a viable banking system.

What about the €6 billion?