Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

This was at a summit which noted that 23 million people are out of work across the European Union. Bhí an Taoiseach ag imirt an amadáin le Sarkozy - agus dúirt seisean go raibh an pobal as a gcloigeann. How much extra austerity did the Taoiseach sign up to last night? What extra cuts and tax increases on low and middle income families will be required to meet the new 0.5% deficit ceiling?

In his state of the nation - or state of the State - address before the budget, the Taoiseach said, "I want to be the Taoiseach who retrieves Ireland's economic sovereignty and who leads a Government that will help our country to succeed". Yet last night he signed an austerity treaty that hands significant new powers over to the European Court of Justice and the European Commission, which are unelected bodies that impose economic policies on democratically elected Governments and which impose heavy fines when they believe these policies have not been adhered to. The Taoiseach also doggedly refuses to give the people their democratic right to have a referendum. How can he talk of restoring sovereignty on the one hand, and at the same deny citizens their democratic right to have a say on this treaty where he gives away more powers to unelected officials in Brussels?

See this speech in context