Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If Angela Merkel was reading the Taoiseach's speech, or got of a copy of it early, she would be a pretty happy Chancellor. The speech that was delivered here today is a confirmation that the Irish Government has been sucked into a swamp of complacency every time its representatives go to Europe. It is a great pity the Taoiseach delivered a speech which, as the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party described it, was one of satisfaction and self-congratulation. That speech is certainly acceptable in Europe and would please the powers that be in Europe. That sort of self-congratulation in saying "all is going well" is fine but I would like to hear the Taoiseach say something else. I would like him to go to Europe tomorrow and deliver a speech outlining what is happening in Ireland and what the effect of Mrs. Merkel's budget is in Ireland. It is all very well to stand up and say we are going to deliver for Europe and for Ireland. I want him to deliver for Ireland first and for Europe second and not in equal proportions. I want him to tell Mrs. Merkel what happened on the streets outside this House yesterday and what was the effect of her budget and what she dictated to us here.

The Irish people are not happy with the sort of message they are getting from Europe, that all is going well and that their budgets and diktats are acceptable. They are not happy with Mr. Schäuble saying Ireland is okay, it does not need any more recapitalisation. That is not acceptable. We are not in the sort of situation that speech gives the impression we are in. That is planet Europe but this is planet Dublin and planet Ireland. Ours are an unhappy people, unhappy because of what is happening over there. The least we can expect is for the Taoiseach to deliver that message when he goes over there and not a message of how successful we are and the successful Europeans that we are.

There is a lesson for us in what is happening in Greece. I am not suggesting we should have the same sort activity but there is a lesson for us in the fact that the Greeks have got a better deal than we have got because they are prepared, and it is beginning to happen here, to show some sort of resistance to the sort of austerity which is continually coming from Brussels and Berlin.

I would like to have heard something else from the Taoiseach. He will be aware of the very important and critical controversy which broke out two weeks ago in The Wall Street Journal and in the press throughout Europe, although it did not receive a huge amount of press coverage here but it is accepted and is absolutely authoritative, regarding the discussions that are going on between the CSU, Mrs. Merkel's party, and her putative coalition partners. What is top of the agenda there? Ireland is top of agenda in those discussions. Ireland is being threatened by the putative partners of Mrs. Merkel with our corporate tax rate, recapitalisation and credit line being in the melting pot again. What we want to hear is that we do not have to pay a price in corporate tax. Regarding the recapitalisation that was supposedly promised, and I remind the Taoiseach I was the first person on 29 June 2012 to congratulate him on achieving it, I notice an ominous paragraph in his speech which states: "As I have consistently said, it is vital to the Union's credibility that decisions taken by leaders are implemented in full".

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