Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

I very much support the Private Members' motion that we are not forced into fiscal union at the summit in Brussels and that the Taoiseach should refuse to sign up to any treaty changes which hand over our economic sovereignty. When he addressed the nation on Sunday, he said he wanted to be the Taoiseach who retrieved Ireland's economic sovereignty. We are all witnesses to that and I hope that statement does not get diluted in any way.

I admit to never being a supporter of being in Europe. I voted against the Nice treaty and the two Lisbon treaties. I have always felt there were threats to or an undermining of our identity, independence and our capacity to manage our own affairs and that we were very much leaving ourselves at the disposal of the Goldman Sachs of this world. Certain sections of society did very well out of the EU. We know of the billions of euro that went to the farming sector. The IFA would say that many of these payments were between €12,000 and €14,000 but massive amounts of money was provided. The Greencore Group received €83 million as a result of exiting the sugar business. Was that really a good move? Billions were received from the structural, region and cohesion funds but many structural projects came in grossly overpriced - again, a waste of money. In the main, the fishing industry has been decimated.

Would we have been better off staying out of the eurozone? If we had not joined, would we be in this dire economic situation? Some economists believe that the euro facilitated the crisis, as Irish banks could borrow from other eurozone banks without exchange risks and lend that money on to customers. According to these economists, our membership of the EU removes the cap on bank lending and halves the cost of borrowing, resulting in a significant increase in the availability of credit and the halving of interest rates. According to one journalist, "This was the economic equivalent of crack cocaine." The property market suffered considerable repercussions. Had we stayed with our own currency like the UK, Sweden and Denmark did, we might be on the other side of the recession. When the global credit crunch struck in 2007, we might have had a solvent Exchequer and banking system. This would also have depended on having men and women of integrity and with the common good at heart in decision-making positions in banks, finance and public office.

Consider Europe's history. Without being too simplistic, the two world wars were caused by aggression on the part of certain countries. Two countries that were bitter enemies are driving this move. As Arthur Beesley wrote in The Irish Times, "Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy take lunch together in Paris, the rest of Europe looks on for clues as to where they will lead us next." Is this democracy Àla the EU? Do we really believe that they have Ireland's best interests at heart? Perhaps they do, but no doubt it will only be if doing so is in the better interests of Germany and France.

Those who are making a profit out of our misfortune are gaining from our bailout. It seems to be the case that, unless France and Germany give us their sanction, this will continue to be the situation. We have the added spectre of the European Court of Justice, which has the power to assess whether national budget rules comply with a country's European obligations.

The possibilities are treaty change, a Schengen-type solution for eurozone states, enhanced co-operation under the Lisbon treaty, tightly focused economic governance, a major revision of treaties and a federal approach. While I am not an expert on economics, it seems that national fiscal policies will need to be deliberated on with partners and there will be penalties for those who breach the agreed benchmarks.

"Save the euro" is the mantra. Perhaps this is right, but Ireland cannot and should not allow itself to be scared or bullied into sacrificing its economic, political or fiscal independence. There is a danger of being relegated to an inferior or subordinate position under the more dominant states. According to Germany, greater fiscal consolidation and control by national governments will ensure the continuation of funds from the new European Stability Mechanism, ESM, and possibly the ECB, but Ireland would not be in control of its budget and would face further fiscal penalties.

We must defend and maintain our democracy and not allow it to be dictated to by the markets. We must prevent a scenario in which smaller, weaker European states have no input and become marginalised and where further fiscal discipline will plunge us into a deeper recession. We have seen the effects of an austere budget, but we must reach a point at which we can make decisions with the common good of this country at heart. Perhaps Iceland and Argentina can teach us lessons.

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