Two years ago, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance met in Government Buildings and colluded with bankers to introduce a policy for a bank bailout that has proven to be the most catastrophic act in the history of the State. We now have 455,000 on the live register, a deficit of €20 billion, €3 billion or more in cut backs in the budget in a few weeks, a national debt of €87 billion and over 200,000 people losing their jobs in two years, with 2,500 people who face being cut off from their electricity supply. Once again emigrants are heading for foreign shores and there are 200,000 people in negative equity, many of whom have lost their jobs in the last two years. There is no clarity from Government about how this will be sorted out. There is despair, confusion and fear as a result of the uncertainty surrounding Government action.

The Taoiseach is aware the Governor of the Central Bank said that, even with hindsight, the policy adopted by the Government was wrong. The Taoiseach has said on more than one occasion that he accepts responsibility for all his actions in politics. In view of the fact that the policy he has followed has crushed the spirit of many of the people, on this first day back in the Dáil, is he prepared to apologise to the Irish people for his actions, actions that have placed an unprecedented economic burden on their shoulders and those of the next generation?

The guiding principles the Government has always adopted in all interventions, from the State guarantee onwards, have been to provide a financial system that will service industry, business and households and that will safeguard the lifeblood of the economy. It is unfortunate that Deputy Kenny continues to portray the motivation of the Government as being anything than that.

The Deputy then goes on to misrepresent the report issued by the Governor of the Central Bank on the necessity for the guarantee, a guarantee that was supported by his party at the time. Our banking system was on the——

On the basis of——

The Taoiseach without interruption please.

The Governor of the Central Bank said in a report on the banking crisis that an extensive guarantee needed to be put in place otherwise our banks would have run out of money within a matter of days and would have had to close their doors. He went on to paint the appalling consequences of not supporting the banking system. He said the closure of all or a large part of the banking system would have entailed a catastrophic, immediate and sustained economy-wide disruption involving very significant, albeit extremely difficult to quantify, social costs, reflecting in particular the fundamental function of the payments system in a modern economy. These costs would have been broadly based in terms of income, employment and the destruction of the value of economic assets, and would have been on top of the recessionary downturn which had actually occurred.

Let us stop peddling the myth that the guarantee was a misguided intervention. It was supported, as I said, by the vast majority of this House, including the Deputy's party, and it is thanks to that decision that we have a banking system today. We are in the process of restructuring that banking system and I believe that to continually portray that decision as anything other than being motivated by what was in the national interest — in fact it was confirmed by the Governor as being necessary regardless of what people might think of the situation — is not correct as it was a necessary decision which we now have to continue to deal with.

It was a bottomless pit.

Deputy Kenny may ask a supplementary question.

It is another example of a member of Fianna Fáil never apologising. When the Minister for Finance rang me on the morning of the fateful decision he asked me what Fine Gael's view would be on supporting the banking system. I said the party will always support a banking system because it is the lifeblood of our economy. I would like to know the conditions.

The Taoiseach knew in advance, from Merrill Lynch whom he paid dearly and the former Secretary General of the Department of Finance, that in certain circumstances Anglo Irish Bank was insolvent, yet he went ahead and made the decision to have a blanket guarantee. The Taoiseach misled the public because he knew, as did the Minister for Finance, the real truth of the matter. I do not know whether we will get that in the banking inquiry which will take place.

On 16 January 2009, in reference to Anglo Irish Bank, the Taoiseach said it was in good stead and was solvent. We were told by the Minister for Finance that this would be the cheapest bank rescue plan in the world. We were told that the Irish taxpayer would not be exposed. We were then told it would cost €2 billion, €4 billion, €10 billion, €16 billion, €24 billion and now it is a higher figure. Does the Taoiseach not understand that on the streets and in the homes of this country what the Taoiseach has done, with his Government, has crushed the spirit of the people despite their willingness to work and create initiative? The Government has crushed their spirit because it has no plan or clear agenda and it does not know where it is headed.

In light of what has happened and what is about to happen, can I take from the Taoiseach that in respect of Anglo Irish Bank, whose unfinished building stands as an iconic failure to a cancer in Irish economics on the docks, the figure he will announce tomorrow on behalf of the Government will be the last time that he will come before this House to look for Irish taxpayers' money to get it and other banks off the backs of the Irish taxpayers? Can the Taoiseach tell them this will be the last time he will come here looking for their money to bail them out?

He started with a policy of no cost to the Irish taxpayer and has ended up with an unknown quantity of possibly €30 billion or higher.

Again I have to say to Deputy Kenny that unfortunately he does not have any policy on this matter at all. He has said recently that Anglo Irish Bank should have——

The Taoiseach without interruption please.

There have been certain assertions made by Deputy Kenny with which I disagree.

You are talking——

Deputy Durkan, please.

What about your position?

It was in good stead and solvent.

First of all I stand over the decision the Government made on the State guarantee. I believe it was the right decision and there is objective evidence in reports since which confirm it was the right decision. The Deputy's position in recent times has been that——-

What about your position?

Sorry, if I may——-

Deputy Durkan please. The Taoiseach is in possession.

A suggestion has been made as part of the posturing that it should have been allowed to fail and I want to go back to what Professor Honohan's report says on that. It says the systemic importance of Anglo Irish Bank at that time cannot be seriously disputed. He goes on to argue that the interconnectedness of Anglo Irish Bank vis-à-vis the Irish banking system meant that: "A disorderly failure of Anglo would have had a devastating effect on the remainder of the Irish banks". Those are the objective facts as decided upon by Professor Honohan in regard to that matter. The Financial Regulator, who is the person with the statutory authority and duty in this matter, will come forward with a figure which he, to the best of his ability, has been able to gauge at this point, as to what the overall position will be in regard to that particular bank. It will be reported on that basis.

What is the sum total?

The date, 16 January 2009.