Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)

On the amendment, I state my support for the Taoiseach who I am sure will do the best he can for all citizens of the State. It is not an easy task, but I am sure he will do his best. I concur with what others have said in supporting him in that respect.

I am pro-European Union for a very good reason. Anyone with even a slight understanding of the history of this country in the past 50 years would know that protectionism did very little for the ordinary people. The ruling classes did very well out of it, while the rest of us emigrated.

Deputy Alex White referred to the social democrats in the development of Europe. I remind Members that some of the most staunch pro-Europeans were members of the French, German, Spanish and Italian socialist parties because they could see that a union was the only way for working people to transform their countries. In fairness to Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, he was the only one to refer to the technology introduced in this country in the 1990s. It was the only chance in the history of the State for working class children to attend secondary school, let alone third level.

I am pro-European Union. I hope Deputies will not be offended by what I am about to say. I am sure everyone present has their own sense of humour, although it is perhaps not as extensive as my own. The people who say they are for Europe often remind me of the sort of white man we have become used to in Ireland who says, in the supermarket or pub, "I am not a racist but....".

People who continually question Europe should put down a motion for a referendum on leaving the European Union. When they are formulating the motion they should not forget that on the last day of each month our good neighbours in Europe send us a cheque for €1.2 billion, and that it was our own, and not the Europeans, who got us into this situation. When the cheque comes I do not hear anyone saying we should send it back.

I support the Taoiseach and others in their endeavours to get the country back on its feet and, perhaps, regain economic sovereignty which was lost on the night of the bank bailout. However, I did not hear too many people talking about a referendum on that.

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