Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

The latest draft of the euro compact states that the austerity rules must be "of binding force and permanent character" and must be "guaranteed to be respected throughout the national budgetary processes". Permanent, binding austerity must be enforced by this Government or any future government. How can the Taoiseach say that that level of infringement on the right of democratically elected parliaments in Europe does not justify the people of this country and the people of Europe having a say on whether they want to give up that level of democratic oversight on their own affairs and their own future? Legal issues aside, how can anybody say that this level of incursion on democratic rights does not require a democratic referendum, so that the citizens can decide whether they want permanent austerity dictated from Brussels or Frankfurt?

See this speech in context