Not all Dublin left-wing independent TDs the same

Stephen Collins today reading the mood in the corridors of Leinster House –

When the Dáil resumes next month, the Greens, the Independents and disgruntled Fianna Fáil TDs will all be looking at each other to see if anybody looks like losing their nerve and making a bolt for the Opposition benches. The other side of the coin is that the two left-wing Dublin Independents, Finian McGrath and Maureen O’Sullivan made a point of backing the Government in some crucial votes before the summer and may continue that policy of tactical support in order to avoid an early election.

One thing is missing from this grouping of McGrath and O’Sullivan.  The Dail’s last chance to vote on the NAMA/Anglo debacle was March 30, 2010, when Brian Lenihan put a motion to the House endorsing his approach.  The full text of the motion is below the fold. The government didn’t need this motion for any specific measure related to Anglo (although another bombshell in relation to its capital needs was coming at that time, see below), but a defeat of the motion would have put the whole NAMAnglo debacle in play there and then.

Finian McGrath voted Tá and Maureen O’Sullivan voted Níl.

That Dáil Éireann:

—notes that the Government has taken bold and successful action to address funding problems in the Irish financial system through the introduction of the Bank Guarantee Schemes and to remove the riskiest loans from the balance sheets of the participating institutions through the NAMA process, which has the support of the IMF, the OECD, the ECB and the European Commission;

—affirms that the Irish economy needs a functioning banking system that enjoys the trust of depositors, international markets and the community at large in order to benefit from the global economic recovery;

—supports the Government in the measures it is announcing today for the final phase of the stabilisation process of the banking system;

—supports the Government in the actions it is taking to ensure that each participating institution in the NAMA process will meet the Financial Regulator’s new capital standards by the end of 2010; and

—supports the Government’s structured and measured approach to the issues facing the financial sector in general, which represents the best way to secure its interests and those of the recovering economy while keeping in mind the requirements of the EU.

After the motion was tabled, the Minister’s opening statement included –

The unavoidable reality is that the bank has incurred losses from its large-scale property lending and needs substantial further capital. Unpalatable as it is, only the taxpayer can provide that capital. It is the least worst option. For this reason, I am this week providing €8.3 billion to support the capital position of the bank to take account of the bank’s losses to date. Additional capital support is likely to be required depending on the NAMA discount on the first tranche of Anglo Irish Bank loans transferred to it. The bank will provide comprehensive information on its financial position in its annual report for the 15-month period to end 2009 which will be published later this week. The bank will need further capital to cover future losses and accomplish the restructuring of the bank and its balance sheet. The current estimate is that this could be of the order of a further €10 billion over time.

That brought the known tab for Anglo to €22 billion.