Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

When the Taoiseach goes to Europe for the European Council meeting, if he gets the opportunity I urge him to ask Chancellor Angela Merkel if she believes that the latest Greek bailout will work, given that it will probably deepen the recession, cause greater unemployment and social unrest. The European Union's prediction is that the Greek economy will only contract by 4.3% this year, 0% next year and will grow by 2% in the following years up to 2020. The Greek economy is contracting at present by 7% and I do not think anyone believes those figures. I would like to hear a direct answer from Chancellor Merkel on the issue.

From the Irish point of view the Council meeting will be very much dominated by the decision to hold a referendum, which I welcome. There should be greater participation of citizens in decisions made in this country. Having a vote once every five years is not enough for citizens. I welcome the decision to allow a referendum, which will be about many things for different people, such as the austerity economics and the insistence that governments should slash spending in the face of high unemployment which has been all the rage with most governments in Europe in recent times. I am not sure people in this country are fond of that.

I am not sure what kind of country the Taoiseach has planned for us but people will have a say on what kind of country they want. While austerity might not do any harm to the export market or fiscal matters, it is killing the domestic market. The domestic economy, which is responsible for 90% of employment in this country, is going down the tubes. We will not have serious recovery until we deal with issues that directly concern the domestic economy.

We must also ask whether we want more or fewer decisions made in Europe. Of late, Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy have met in advance of the European Council meetings. It is as if we do not have much say anymore. No doubt the fiscal compact will cede more power to Europe and fewer decisions will be made in this country. I am not sure that is what the people of this country want. In fairness, they will have a decision to make and it is their call.

On whether we want more or less democracy, there is a serious democratic deficit in Europe at the moment and it seems to be on the increase. If Chancellor Merkel has her way we will go further away from real democracy. Sadly, a directly elected European Parliament has failed to bridge the divide between the people and the European Union. I am not sure what the answer is, but I do not consider that the EU is functioning in the manner we anticipated.

Will the Government accept the vote of the people, be it "Yes" or "No" or will we be asked to vote again if we do not get the right answer the first time? It would be interesting to hear the Government make a pronouncement in that regard in advance of the referendum.

The bank bailout is an issue for people. Taxpayer-funded capital injections into otherwise bankrupt banks are bailouts but the country did not get a bailout. We have loans that we are expected to pay back. It is disingenuous to call what the country received, a bailout, in contrast to what the banks are getting. Unfortunately, the main reason the banks got a bailout from the taxpayer and the country got it in turn was in order to ensure that the European banks got repaid.

It is a big concern that the treaty is not the end of the European programme, it is more like a new beginning. We are told that Paris and Berlin are awash with blueprints for what amounts to a eurozone finance ministry with the power to co-ordinate budget and economic policies. Such plans require far more sovereignty to be ceded than will the treaty to be put to the people in a referendum. People must realise that we are going in a new direction if we decide to vote in favour of the fiscal treaty.

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