Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

Who are the bondholders who are being given €711 million of our money, plus interest? Are they hedge fund speculators, as has been reported? Did they pay knock-down prices, in the correct belief the Government would pay them in full? Are speculators in Paris, Frankfurt and New York popping open champagne bottles to celebrate the decision of the Minister? They must have known he was talking nonsense when he made his speech in New York. Like the grand old Duke of York, he went to the top of the hill, but nothing happened thereafter. They can count on him as they pop champagne bottles in celebration. Who are the hedge fund gamblers who have made a killing on the backs of the people today? Is Goldman Sachs involved? It is on the list in the public domain. Is the former Attorney General, Mr. Peter Sutherland, involved? He told the people they should pay the bondholders. Is his company benefitting? Why can the Government not give the names of the bondholders to the people who are paying them? In the absence of information, we can only presume that hedge fund speculators are having a fantastic day at the races today.

I would like to refer to the decision of the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Papandreou, to have a referendum in that country. Why is the Government not giving the people an opportunity to have their say on the huge burden they are facing? A further €3.6 billion in cuts will be made in the forthcoming budget. Why did the Government decide, on the advice of the Attorney General, that the European Stability Mechanism did not have to be put to the people? Why will the Government not publish the advice of the Attorney General? Like my party leader, Deputy Gerry Adams, our finance spokesperson, Deputy Pearse Doherty, and other Sinn Féin Deputies, I have repeatedly asked the Government to publish the Attorney General's advice, but it has consistently refused to do so. The Government is not prepared to allow the people to vote in a referendum on the issue. It is not even prepared to explain why that is the case.

As a result of their protests and campaigns, it looks like the people of Greece will at least have a say on the decisions that will impact on them. I suggest this proposition would be rejected by the peoples of Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy because it has failed. I also expect it to be rejected by the people of Greece. There are three aspects to the issue. It is a question of unsustainable debt, a banking crisis that has not been properly addressed and a systemic banking failure, not at Irish or Greek levels but at European and international levels. In the banking system there was a failure of regulation and prudence and people in countries such as Ireland, Greece and Portugal have been forced to saddle the burden.

The Taoiseach is smiling on the other side of the House. Since his election to this House after winning a by-election in the 1970s, he has put himself before the people to the extent that he is now the father of the House. I take it that his commitment to politics is absolute and that he wants to see change. Does he believe in his heart that it is fair and acceptable that the people are facing another austerity budget to pay the private debts of bankers who gambled recklessly, took advantage of failures of regulation and accountability and are now benefitting from the crisis? Does he think it is fair that we may be forced to partially or fully privatise our assets and suffer austerity, unemployment and emigration in order to reward a system that has utterly failed the people? I do not think he believes in his heart that that is fair. I do not think the Minister does so either.

What would be the right thing to do? Somebody will have to take a stand at some point by saying this is crazy, unsustainable and has to change. Who will do this? Will it be the Minister? Will it be the Taoiseach? They have to ask themselves these questions. When the Taoiseach won a by-election in the 1970s and took a seat in this House, just as the new Labour Party Deputy did today, did he think he would be in a position to see the people utterly failed?

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