Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Rabbitte as a chuid ama a roinnt liom ar an cheist rí-thábhachtach seo. Ní aontaím leis an cinneadh atá glactha ag a pháirtí tacú leis an Bille seo. Is mór an trua é dúinn ar an eite chlé go bhfuil an difríocht sin eadrainn sa chás seo. An t-aon toradh a bhéas ar an Bhille seo agus an cinneadh atá á ghlacadh ná go mbeidh lucht oibre na Gréige thíos leis de thairbhe an chinnidh seo sa deireadh thiar. Ní lucht an rachmais a bheidh thíos leis.

As a consequence of the vulture capitalism of recent weeks, and of the past year in particular, the Bill before the House intends, supposedly as a gesture of solidarity, to extend a loan to the Greek people of up to €1.5 billion, or a bond of some kind. We are told that is the intention of the Bill but the opposite is the case. It is not an act of solidarity with the Greek people, but is, once again, an act of solidarity with bond holders from this Government. It is German bond holders in the main who are being bailed out in this case, and not our neighbours and friends, the Greek people, who will benefit. Ultimately, the Greek people will have to foot the bill, which was not caused by the working people or the unemployed of Greece. It was created by an economy built on falsehoods, by tax avoidance on a rampant scale encouraged by the Government, and by tax exemptions which encouraged those in the shipping industry and major companies to benefit while the working people had to pay their share. The situation is similar to that of Ireland. Our Celtic tiger was built on a falsehood, a basket-case economy that was found out in recent times. In the case of Greece it is the same thing. Its economy was built on falsehood and shipping in the same way as ours was built on construction. When it collapsed it did so very heavily.

The other problem with the Greek economy is that there was a cooking of the books, as is acknowledged by everybody. The system was set up to allow for that. Proceeds from the sale of shares traded on the Athens stock exchange had a tax exemption. Income from ships and shipping was tax exempt and dividends received from a Greek company was tax exempt. Capital gains from the sale of a business between family member was tax exempt.

This economy was a relatively poor and struggling one just as Ireland's economy struggled for many years to try to build good standards of education, living and public services. Much was done in Ireland, as in Greece. The problem now is that the ordinary people of both countries have to pay twice for what they thought they had already paid.

I offer an example of where some of the €1.5 billion we are offering and sending, in supposed solidarity with the Greek people, is going and what it will pay for. Not only will it pay for what my colleague, Deputy Morgan, mentioned, namely, the German bond holders but I have a list of some of the Greek military expenditure that has been ramped up in recent weeks. Just when the extent of the Greek economy's problems came to light the people are being forced to spend more money than before on military spending. This country has the highest military spend in the entire EU. In a bizarre twist to the Greek crisis, France and Germany are pressing Greece to buy gunboats, war planes and submarines from them while at the same time they and the ECOFIN Ministers are telling the Greeks to curb public spending. They must, therefore, curb all spending except military spending. Some Greek officials say privately that the Paris and Berlin authorities are using the crisis as leverage to ensure that arms contracts which were negotiated in recent years and, in particular, in recent weeks, are concluded. As a result, the country will not reduce its military spend.

An advisor to Prime Minister, George Papandreou, stated in a report, "Nobody is saying, 'Buy our warships or we won't bail you out', but the clear implication is that they will be more supportive if we do what they want on the armaments front". According to Nick Witney, a former head of the European Defence Agency, the Germans and the French have the Greeks over a barrel now. We must not forget it was this agency that our Government and so-called main Opposition parties persuaded the Irish people to buy into during the Lisbon treaty referendum. It is this company which is encouraging more spend on the armaments industry.

I offer an example of where exactly the money will go. The Greeks are concluding a deal with the French at the moment to buy six Fremm frigates. If Deputies want to know what these frigates cost-----

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