Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The Minister for Finance described this as a technical Bill but it is important none the less. Irrespective of whether we agree on what Europe should be doing, we should not engage in the type of rhetoric we heard from Deputy Mattie McGrath this afternoon. Speaking about blood being spilled on the streets does not do anything for democracy or stability and it certainly does not help our image at home or abroad. It is important for the sake of the economic fortunes of citizens across the EU that Europe remains open for business. Last week's agreement will require political leadership, courage and honesty. We must move away from the self-serving opportunism of political parties in their own lands.

We are, as Deputy Donohoe said, involved with the EU, IMF and ECB. We need to work with the troika, because if we did not have the troika, where would we be today? That is a question that is not asked very often. We could not go out into the international markets and we could not borrow money. I am wary of any mad rush to return to the markets unless we have the required foundation, structure and stability. It would be catastrophic for us to go back to the markets only to discover that we were not ready and should not have been open for business at all.

We have a public service that requires Exchequer funding to pay for those who work and the services that are provided to our people. The two key words are "public" and "service". If we did not have the availability of the loan fund that we have now, that would be severely undermined. There is an implication, which we will hear from the other side, regarding the agreement that was signed initially and that has been continued, albeit in a different form, by the current Government. The Members opposite, many of whom I respect and admire, should not come into this House and tell the stories of friends, families and fellow citizens who are paying an inordinate price for the recklessness of a decade and a half of misgovernance, bad regulation and poorly run banks. That is the unfortunate thing. I really feel sorry for the people who have no jobs, who are in negative equity, or who are struggling; these include many of my own friends and family members. Let us put that in the context of where we are today.

The Minister used the word "stability" in his speech this morning. It is important that we, as a Government and as a member of the wider European Union, bring stability to the European economy, to our own banking system and to our people. If we cast our minds back to 12 months ago or 24 months ago, we can see the stability this Government has brought to the affairs of our nation and to our people.

I challenge the Members opposite to put aside their attempts to gain cheap political points by saying in the media that they will go to jail for not paying a tax, and look at the implications of what they are saying. The easy thing to do is to go on the airwaves and say, "I will not pay the €100 tax", but we cannot do that. With election to this House comes responsibility. That means we must lead by example, and if we disagree with legislation, we must use the method we have available to us, which is to vote against it or table amendments to it. Let us put the wider interests of our nation and our people first rather than these cheap, self-serving vote-getting exercises in which we all engage from time to time. This is far too serious. I do not have the answers about where we are going, but neither does anyone else. We all have a viewpoint and a thesis that we think is the best, and that is fine. We are entitled to our opinions. However, our country requires us to show leadership, and it also requires President Sarkozy, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Cameron to show leadership.

Let us go back to when the Bretton Woods agreement was originally signed and consider the original European Union concept. Are we saying today, in a 27-member Union, that we can stray away from this? Is that what we are really saying - that our political differences are so wide that we cannot agree, and that we cannot put aside internal political advancement for the sake of a better Union for all our citizens, no matter how imperfect? Look at how things have gone in America. On "CBS Evening News" last night there was a report on Slab City in California, where people are living in trailer parks out in the middle of the desert, trying to rear their families. Coming back to home, we must ask ourselves: without Europe, where would we be as a nation? We are a peripheral island country that requires strong trading partners. Yes, we need links with Britain, Asia and America, but mostly we need links with the European Union.

Let us put aside the pantomime season and be realistic, despite our political differences. I do not mind political differences, but our common aim must be to do what is best for our country and for our people. We should not be going out onto the plinth and allowing ourselves to be hostages to the media for a cheap soundbite. It behoves all of us - Government and Opposition - to remember this.

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