Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the fact that after eight months and five summits the Taoiseach will finally hold a bilateral summit tomorrow with a leader of a eurozone country. As we have been pressing him on since last June, there is an urgent need for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to do more than just talk about diplomatic initiatives. Now that he is finally meeting Chancellor Merkel the big question remains as to what is his policy in this area. What is the Government demanding in terms of issues specific to Ireland and measures to tackle the eurozone crisis?

I wrote to the Taoiseach last week calling for a cross-party consensus which would set out clearly Ireland's position. He rejected that and refused even to consider holding a meeting on it. Last month's euro deal has already fallen apart. Existing European policies have not worked and cannot work and if the Taoiseach continues to sign off on statements claiming that the euro crisis is about individual countries being reckless Ireland will continue to quietly go along with the end of the euro and the economic disaster which may follow.

It is very clear what needs to be done and the most important part of that is that the European Central Bank must start acting as the central bank for all member states and not just one. Will the Taoiseach do tomorrow what he has so far refused to do and state that Ireland, clearly and without qualification, believes that the European Central Bank must stop the policies that have driven three countries out of the bond markets? Will he demand that Chancellor Merkel and others start representing the views of all of the member states of the eurozone because if they continue as they have been going in recent months they will have done more damage than any euro sceptic could do to the European Union?

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