Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

It is welcome that there will be a special summit on the European debt crisis, but its handling by the Government since taking office has been appalling. We heard much guff during the election campaign about not putting another penny into the banks and about Fine Gael acting differently. Within the next ten days the Government will inject over €19 billion of taxpayers' money into the banks. During the election campaign the Tánaiste was presented by the Labour Party as a Taoiseach in waiting and he declared that it would be "Labour's way, not Frankfurt's way". The Government has set aside all of these commitments, shredded the manifesto and proceeded to implement Fianna Fáil policy. It has also blamed Fianna Fáil for every decision it has had to take and Fianna Fáil stands condemned for the mess it created. Fianna Fáil is no longer in government and its members are not going to the summit. The Taoiseach will attend instead and will have choices to make.

Sinn Féin wishes the Taoiseach well and wants him to stand up for the citizens of the State and Irish interests. Our parties represent different interests and the reality is that our so-called partners in the European Union are set to benefit to the tune of nearly €10 billion owing to the penal rate of lending, which is scandalous. The Taoiseach must renegotiate on this issue this week. The leaders of France, Germany and other EU states have made decisions not in the interests of the European Union as a whole but in their own national interests and the Taoiseach should follow their example. He should not see himself as a observer at the summit, rather he should make it clear that the EU plan for Greece, Ireland and Portugal has failed and that the medicine is killing the patient.

Ireland is unlikely to be in a position to return to the international bond markets in 2013 and Irish debt has been rated as junk by one of the leading ratings agencies. The EU-IMF plan is junk and must be dumped. The Taoiseach should say this clearly and directly. From our perspective, the Government's priority at this summit needs to be to ensure Irish debt is brought to a sustainable level. We cannot tackle this debt crisis by taking on more debt. Payments to unguaranteed senior bondholders should be stopped. If they are not, all bondholders will receive €4.3 billion before the end of September. The closure of accident and emergency units is one of the social consequences of this policy. Almost 500,000 people are unemployed. Our elderly citizens are being forced to decide between paying bills and buying food.

We could argue about the efficacy of the Government's negotiating strategy and tactics. It has spent five months negotiating an interest rate reduction, but it has failed to achieve such a reduction so far. When the reduction is agreed, it will save the Exchequer €150 million per annum. It will not apply retrospectively to money that has already been drawn down. In 2001, the Government has pumped €3.1 billion of taxpayers' money into zombie banks like Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide. As I have said, our EU partners will benefit to the tune of almost €10 billion from the exorbitant interest they are charging on these loans. While the interest rate reduction will be welcome - Sinn Féin predicted some time ago that it will come - it will amount to very little when considered in the context of the profits our partners are making, the tens of billions being pumped into the banks to pay for their mistakes and the hardship being endured by our citizens.

The ECB policy of protecting bank bondholders, whatever the monetary or social cost, makes no economic sense. It is economic madness. It is reckless. The Government needs to call time on it. The policy being implemented is leading to dangerous social consequences for our citizens. We are seeing it everywhere. I am sure the Taoiseach has first-hand experience of it. The Government has chosen to retain the universal social charge and to introduce new taxes on property and water. We are familiar with the forthcoming household charge. Schools are losing special needs assistants. I have referred to the plight of patients in our hospitals. Young people are having to emigrate and almost 500,000 citizens are on the dole.

The Taoiseach needs to impress on the other eurozone leaders that the Irish people are no longer prepared to carry the can for the gamblers and speculators in the finance and banking sectors. To date, he has refused to listen to Sinn Féin's advice on these matters. That is his entitlement. Sin é. That is his choice. All of us have had to learn to listen to opposing voices. The Taoiseach represents us all at this summit. As he has testified on many occasions, Ireland is a good place. Our people are good people. They do not deserve to be walked over. The Taoiseach needs to make a stand.

See this speech in context