Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

Setting aside the fanfare and celebrations surrounding the Queen's visit, and following some commentary in newspapers on Sunday about what one might term the deeper political subtext to the meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, and the two State visits in general, it has been suggested there is a tactical or strategic shift taking place in our policy - towards the Anglo-American rather than the Franco-German axis - in the hope of putting a little pressure on the European authorities to relax the terms of the EU-IMF deal. I hope the Taoiseach will comment, and state whether it was the thinking of Government that such was part of the rationale behind the visit.

If that is the case, will the Taoiseach agree with me that this thinking is misplaced and misguided? Although there have been some criticism and comments on the part of the IMF about the unsustainability of the deal, the loan agreement, the EU-IMF package and the need to ease up in that regard, the fact is that these two factions of the global establishment are agreed that ordinary working people, the citizens of this country, should pay off the gambling debts of the banks of private financial institutions. An interest rate reduction of one percentage point here or there is not really the point; the whole deal is unfair and unsustainable. That is what we should have raised with the Prime Minister Mr. David Cameron. If I heard it correctly, I am surprised the Taoiseach stated he did not discuss this matter with the Prime Minister. Surely the most pressing issue facing this country is the unsustainable debt burden which has been loaded on the backs of people in the interests of paying off bankers and bondholders. Is that not what we should mention to Mr. David Cameron, the IMF, and to President Barack Obama, if the allegations made by Professor Morgan Kelly about the intervention of the President's Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, in vetoing proposals to burn the unguaranteed bondholders are correct? Should we not state that we cannot pay the gambling debts of bankers?

In regard to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, the Taoiseach stated that he spoke with the Prime Minister about the issue but it is not clear from his response what the Prime Minister will do about it. A very simple request was made by Justice for the Forgotten. A unanimous motion was passed in the Dáil Chamber to the effect the relevant files should be released. Could the Taoiseach tell us, on foot of the simple request that the files in the possession of the British Government relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings should be released, whether the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron is giving us and the families a commitment on the matter? It is a simple matter and does not require bringing in other, wider issues involving truth commissions and so on. It is a simple, straightforward request. The families deserve justice and the truth. Will the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron give them the truth and release the files?

See this speech in context