Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ní raibh deis agam fáilte a chur roimh an Aire nua Gnóthaí Eachtracha sula bhí air imeacht. Tá sé spéísiúl go bhfuil sé ag filleadh ar ghnó a bhí aige cheana. Ar aon chaoi, díreoidh mé anois ar an phríomh cheist atáá phlé anseo faoi láthair.

The main focus of the December European Council meeting was the proposal to amend the Treaty of Rome for the purpose of establishing a permanent mechanism to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area. The amendment is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2013. We have noted that from the Council's conclusions, but also from what the Taoiseach had to say in the House earlier. I note also from the conclusions of the European Council summit that the intention is to use the simplified revision procedure provided for in Article 48(6) of the Treaty on European Union for the purpose of effecting this change. That was one of the controversial changes that was introduced on the passage of the Lisbon treaty. It was one of the mechanisms we specifically opposed because it allowed the Government to bypass the public will in this State and to alter the treaty almost as and when it wished.

I note with deep concern the comments of the Taoiseach in the aftermath of the summit suggesting that such a change would not necessitate a referendum in Ireland. Perhaps he is basing this view on the premise that having already handed over and therefore lost our economic sovereignty to the EU and the IMF that this country has nothing left to lose. I wish to put on record that my party alone in this House - with no exceptions - argued that the creation of this mechanism would lead to greater treaty change in the future being decided upon by the European elites with no reference to the Irish people. That is exactly what is now happening. When we raised those concerns during the debate in this House we were dismissed as scaremongering. We were told that the change was only a technicality and there would not be any untoward effects but that is exactly what has come to pass. The Taoiseach hardly needs me to remind him that he encouraged the Irish people to support the Lisbon treaty on the basis that it would solve our unemployment crisis. That has not happened yet and the mechanism is being used to further erode our economic sovereignty. It is just another broken promise from this broken Government.

I remind the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, and the Taoiseach by extension, despite their belief that the Government can constitutionally introduce the amendment without recourse to the people, that it was also believed that was the position in the case of the Single European Act. It took the courage of Raymond Crotty to defeat the Government at that time. I cannot recall the specifics of the case but in a subsequent treaty the then Attorney General was of the opinion that it was not required to put it to the people but the Government prevailed and the treaty was put to the people on that occasion. On a number of occasions the advice given by the Attorney General to the Government has proven to be flawed. Just because the advice of the Attorney General is that the Government does not need to hold a referendum does not mean it should not put the proposal to the people. If the Irish people accept such a significant change as is being proposed in this case to tie us in the way that is being suggested, that is the ultimate democratic endorsement of the proposal.

I had intended raising the ceasefire by ETA and the hopeful change in the political climate in the Basque Country. However, as it was raised previously by my colleague, Deputy Ó Caoláin, I will not refer to it now but I might raise it during the question and answer session.

The European Council's decision to create a permanent mechanism to provide supposed help to member states who find themselves in financial difficulty presents major problems for this country in the future. If that is the same type of help that has been given to this country in recent weeks then perhaps the other member states of Europe should be questioning it and quaking in their boots. The disastrous involvement of our country with the support mechanisms provided by our friends in the EU to date has brought this country to the verge of social and economic bankruptcy, helped in no small part by the policies of the Government. The interest rate being charged on the first part of the EU loan drawn down by this country on 12 January is scandalous. The EU is set to make a tidy profit of 3% on the loan. So much for aid. This is a case of aid being tied to profiteering which is pushing up the cost of the intervention to an already beleaguered Irish economy. We must strongly question why the Government entered the Irish people into such a bad deal and why the European Commission, in its apparent attempt to help the economy, is taking advantage of the weakness of the Government's incompetent negotiating. It is barefaced profiteering that brought about this crisis and the same profiteering will only make the Irish situation worse. I urge caution on the Portuguese, Spanish and Italians in supporting such a mechanism in case they or other countries who might struggle in the current economic climate need help. The EU, the institutions, the European Central Bank and other financial institutions in Europe are intent on profiteering on the back of the misery those countries are facing currently because of wrongdoing by the banking sector.

The transfer of the loans is the final nail in the coffin of Irish economic sovereignty. The conditionality attached to the loan, as seen in the memorandum of understanding, will hinder economic growth and cripple the economy, throwing it into a self-defeating policy spiral. The State's structural deficit is fixable. We have shown how one can fix it. It is the insistence by the Commission and the IMF that bank bondholders must be honoured that is plunging us into crisis. Let us remember that the Commission is telling us what to do while conversely penalising us through inflated interest rates as part of the same policy. It seems that the new plan produced by the European Council will inevitably mean more of the same across Europe with banks getting away scot free and continuing to happily speculate while the risks of their actions are borne by the State or more precisely the citizens, the ordinary working people. The savage austerity package advocated by such organisations as the ECB and the IMF are forcing the people to pay the costs of the crisis which they did not cause. This will have a deflationary effect on the economy and limit economic growth. Instead of getting to grips with the root cause of the crisis caused by greedy speculators, it seems we are dealing with lists of demands from financial markets. We cannot merely engage in technical tinkering. A permanent mechanism for the maintenance of financial stability must include measures to better regulate market activity and clear commitments to the maintenance of minimum social standards. The reality of what the European Council has called on Ireland to adopt is a permanent mechanism that will not save but rather punish member states. I urge the Minister of State to reject it and I urge the Minister of State and the Taoiseach to put it to a vote of the people.

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