Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the many challenges which confront citizens of the EU at this time. Many of these challenges arise out of the economic crisis and the policies of austerity being pursued by conservative governments across Europe, including our own. Sinn Féin believes that Ireland's place is in Europe and that resolving these difficulties requires co-operation with our European partners.

The big question is the democratic one of what kind of EU do we want. Sinn Féin wants a social European Union and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013 provides this State with an opportunity to steer Europe towards this goal. That requires us to abandon the austerity policies supported by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party, which are leading Europe in the wrong direction.

Austerity has failed. Deficits are rising rather than falling, there have been deep cuts to public services, taxes are increasing and 16 million people across the EU are now unemployed. In national elections in France and Greece and in local elections in Italy, Germany and Britain, electorates have taken a stand against these failed policies. The referendum on 31 May provides Irish citizens with an opportunity to join this growing European-wide movement that is demanding an end to austerity as well investment in jobs and growth.

It is telling that it took the French President-elect to put these issues on the political agenda. Neither the Taoiseach nor the Tánaiste did it and now the Government is tripping over itself to join the growth bandwagon. A strong "No" vote will ensure that this goes beyond rhetoric and will strengthen the hand of all those who genuinely oppose austerity. It would also be a rejection of a Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil agreement to hand over fiscal sovereignty to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. If these parties have their way key fiscal decisions affecting Irish citizens will be made in future in Brussels and Strasbourg - not the Oireachtas. This was spelled out by Mario Draghi last week. Do Irish citizens want to be a province of a European super-state where technocrats take decisions with no accountability?

The fiscal treaty also fails to deal with some of the major problems facing economies at this time. It ignores the debt crisis and does nothing to tackle the jobs crisis. Instead it will mean more cuts and bank bailouts. The reality is that imposing deep cuts to public services, reducing wages and welfare payments, and imposing new taxes on low and middle-income families in a recession makes the recession worse.

There is an alternative which we have set out and which I commend to the Taoiseach. Getting people off the dole and back to work needs to be prioritised. How can we do this? There is an urgent need to increase the lending capacity of the European Investment Bank to stimulate activity in the real economy; cleanse the European banking system of toxic debts; introduce debt-restructuring agreements involving debt write-downs for heavily indebted states; and end the obligation on the State to pay the Anglo Irish Bank promissory note and unguaranteed senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank and other banks. Sinn Féin has also set out in successive budget submissions how we would close the deficit and fund the State while putting public finances back on a sustainable footing in a socially sustainable and equitable way. This includes paying the wages of nurses, teachers and gardaí and providing decent front-line services. The Government has yet to tell citizens how it will pay for a treaty that will cost a further €6 billion in cuts to implement.

The opportunity to make a decisive change lies before us. The question is whether the Government is up to the challenges this entails. On 31 May citizens here will have the opportunity to guide the Government and give it direction. Sinn Féin is calling for a "No" vote - no to austerity and "Yes" for investment and jobs.

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