Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

He usually responds to such questions by saying his Government did not create this mess and that we must do whatever is necessary to get out of it. We are past all of that. This Government has taken decisions which influence these matters. The ECB is to lend billions of euro to the IMF which it will, in turn, lend to Italy and Spain. We are all agreed that borrowing is part of the cause of the crisis here so it seems to me to be bizarre that even more borrowing is being proposed as a solution.

I will conclude with the point I have made a number of times. This crisis needs to be resolved but Sinn Féin does not believe that further centralisation of fiscal powers in Brussels is the solution. I would like the Taoiseach to agree with us and, if he does, to say so clearly and if he does not agree, to say so.

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