Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Beidh mé ag glacadh beagánín níos mó ama. I will take more time.

I dtús báire ba mhaith liom an rún seo a mholadh. Rún simplí é agus ní chóir go mbéimís gafa ins an stad go bhfuilimid ag cur a leithéid de rún chun cinn. Is é ról na Dála cosaint a dhéanamh ar an bpobal, agus ar an infrastruchtúr straitéiseach atá bunaithe againn thar na blianta ach go háirithe, chun iarracht a dhéanamh cosaint a thabhairt dár bhflaitheas eacnamaíochta agus do thodhchaí eacnamaíochta na tíre agus chun postanna a chur ar fáil do Éireannaigh in Éirinn seachas thar lear mar atá ag tarlú faoi láthair.

Public control of strategic assets is about much more than our economic recovery in the short term. It is about the very survival of an island nation into the future. As the European financial crisis deepens, the European Union is becoming an increasingly hostile and merciless place for small outlying member states. The larger members obviously seek to protect their own interests first and foremost and we will suffer the consequence. Already we are witnessing unilateral moves by the likes of France and Germany at our expense. These continental players are acting to protect their own banks which recklessly lent to Irish ones during boom times. That is not to say Irish banks were not also guilty. Likewise, Finland's insistence that Greece honour its debt to Finland over and above its debt to Ireland or to other member states is another example of larger states making unilateral moves at the expense of the small outlying nations or nations like us that are struggling.

As an island nation, Ireland is different from other European nations. We have no international land borders and therefore have no choice but to be more self-reliant than others. We must now protect and bolster our capacity to be self-reliant in case the need arises.

Ag tús an 20ú chéad dob é polasaí Shinn Féin - cé nach raibh an páirtí féin bunaithe ag an am - pobal na hÉireann a chur chun tosaigh. Bhíomar ag féachaint i ndiaidh phobal na hÉireann i dtús báire agus ina dhiaidh sin ag féachaint go mbeimís ag trádáil agus ag déanamh conarthaí le tíortha eile. Sa chéad dul síos bhíomar ag déanamh cinnte de go mbéadh flaitheas éigin againn agus go mbeimís in ann tairgeadh a dhéanamh ar son mhuintir na hÉireann.

We are losing foreign direct investment not only to India and other countries, but to our European neighbours. We have seen a haemorrhage of jobs in recent years. During such times of crisis, economic or otherwise, our sea, air, rail and road transport and our communications and energy infrastructure are the last line of defence for the economy. Their privatisation, whether in part or in whole, would expose us to attack in an increasingly competitive and cut-throat global environment and undermine our ability to protect our industries, infrastructure and jobs. We need only think of State jobs in State companies that have been partly or wholly privatised.

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