Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies Timmy Dooley and Bily Kelleher.

I welcome the opportunity provided by the Technical Group to debate this issue. While the Tánaiste referred to last week's debate, things have changed again since. The proposals submitted by President Van Rompuy who has been virtually anonymous during the crisis and by President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel have completely changed the dynamic. Once again, our corporation tax rate, the foundations of much of our industrial policy, is under attack. The investors who are considering locating in Ireland are thinking to themselves, "here we go again." It is welcome that the Tánaiste has been so straight in saying this issue is not on the table and not a matter for negotiation, but he might also tell this to President Sarkozy. Every time something arises, he returns to this issue, as though he is trying to take 1,000 cuts at it in the hope he will cause its destruction. Will someone explain to him that the majority of the jobs attracted to Ireland on the basis of its corporation tax rate and everything else it offers would not be created in Europe otherwise and would be lost to the European Union? For someone who is perceived to be interested in job creation in the European Union, although I suspect this proposal has more to do with his own job than any other, this is a message that must be hammered home to him.

The Tánaiste and, to a certain extent, the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, were trying to induce the House not to divide on the issue as it would weaken Ireland's case. Of course, all Members wish the Taoiseach well and want him to bring home a deal. However, one cannot ignore the fact that the European institutions and the European Central Bank, in particular, have completely failed to deal with the crisis. The summit tomorrow will be the 14th to deal with it. The ECB is refusing to adopt its wider economic role. It should not be focused only on inflation but job creation and economic growth generally. Under the leadership of Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet in particular, it was obsessed with inflation and drove many countries into the situation in which they are in today by refusing to become the lender of last of last resort in the manner in which other central banks did. What we need out of this process is for it to take on that role.

I welcome that the new President of the ECB, Mr. Mario Draghi, seems to be bringing in some changes and making the ECB more relevant to people's life. I hope the banks will pass on the interest rate decrease that is expected today.The Government needs to push for the ECB to take on a far greater social role than it currently takes and to take a far greater role in the development of the economy of Europe and not only for it to have an obsession around inflation to the detriment of many of the smaller countries.

Clearly, what is proposed by the German Chancellor and the French President is not in Ireland's best interests. We all welcome and look forward to the proposals the Government will bring forward on economic supervision and that is needed, but the other measures they have come up with are not in our self-interest. We joined a Community of equals in 1973 and we re-affirmed and maintained our commitment to that in several referenda since then. That is the reason we are a member state of the Union. I would nearly put my week's wages on betting there will not be an agreement tomorrow. That is the problem. We have been brought to the levee many times with talk of an upcoming summit being the big summit, the one where we will get an agreement that will sort out the markets but then nothing happens. This was supposed to be happen in July, October, September and it is supposed to happen tomorrow. That leads to rumours such as those being floated around this morning that the Central Bank is printing punts, which it has denied. That collapse and failure of political leadership at European level had led to rumours which have driven the markets to where they are at, and that is what must be stopped tomorrow.

The leaders should be kept negotiating, even if they have to stay there for a few days, to get a deal, one that works for Ireland and one where we can once and for all scrap the arguments put forward by those who are trying to take up the issue of our corporation tax rate.

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