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

The Taoiseach had his chance to speak.

This strategy is shameful and humiliating. It might be forgivable if the strategy of the EU, the ICB and the IMF was showing any sign at all of working, but it is not working. This week we saw all the evidence. The austerity in Greece is crucifying its economy. Its growth has collapsed and because of this, its unsustainable debt is even more unsustainable and unpayable. Because of this, the contagion will spread to France and across the rest of Europe. More bank bailouts will be required for the big European banks and therefore more austerity will be required as ordinary people in Europe are expected to pay for it. This will result in further contraction of the European economy, and the Government's hopes of an export-led recovery will disappear like snow off a rope. The markets are now saying that is what they think will happen. The Government's beloved markets are saying that Ireland cannot have the growth it hoped for because the European economy is going to contract due to the continued policy of austerity and bank bailouts.

There is a contrast to all this, as we have said over and over for the last few months, and that is what is happening in Greece. The Greek people have fought back and, as a result, the bondholders did get burnt, to the tune of 20%. They got what we did not get. It might be a 50% burning of the bondholders. Today, they got their €8 billion, even though they did not implement the austerity measures because of the Greek resistance.

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