Ms Michelle Murphy:

We are discussing economic, social and cultural rights. With all due respect to everybody in the room, the fiscal compact will put paid to any economic, social and cultural rights if there are binding expenditure ceilings and taxation cannot be raised above a certain level, and any extra tax revenue has to be used to pay the debt. Ireland will not meet any of its economic, social and cultural targets if we are still constrained by the fiscal compact and if the push by the Italian Presidency of the EU does not loosen some of the articles in that treaty.