Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

My Opposition colleague from the north side of Cork City spoke about this being a debate on ordinary Irish citizens, some of our people emigrating and the gamblers, speculators and profligate Governments we have had in the past. I agree with him. This is a treaty that will protect Irish citizens. It will build a country that will allow Irish people to come back from abroad and find jobs, and stop and prevent the type of government that has brought this country to where it is now and the speculation, abuse and poor banking we had in the past.

The austerity package we are currently under will remain in place no matter how people vote. I heard a person on the radio this morning talking about the household charge. That will not be affected by the referendum or how people vote. This is a package for the future of our country. It is a treaty which is not based on austerity but stability. It is about learning the lessons from the mistakes that not only we in the Republic of Ireland but many countries in Europe and around the world have made in the past number of years.

We have a responsibility to play our part. There is also an opportunity for us as a people to re-engage with the debate on the periphery of what it means to our country to be a member and partner of the European project and vision. Ireland and Europe are not separate entities. Ireland is part of and at the heart of Europe Europe has been exceptionally good to Ireland. Many of the billions of euro that enter Ireland each year come from our European colleagues. We will have an opportunity to put in place measures that will ensure individual nations, including Ireland and perhaps others in future, will not be able to put a project involving hundreds of millions of people, a Continent, at risk through poor economic management.

The referendum is very straightforward. I accept that the last two referenda on treaties were extremely complicated. While issues were raised that should not have been raised, the complexity of the treaties gave rise to questions on corporation tax and neutrality. Amendments were made to the second Lisbon treaty in this regard. The treaty before us is no such treaty. It is extremely straightforward and there are extremely clear and identifiable targets which countries such as Ireland must work towards.

It has been suggested that if every country in Europe were to have a referendum, they would all vote against the treaty. We must have regard for the fact that 16 of the 17 eurozone governments have all agreed, through their own legal frameworks, to put the treaty in place. It is extremely misleading to suggest that people in other countries, whose governments have signed up to the treaty on their behalf, would vote in a different fashion. This is a chance for Ireland to return to where it once was, a country that shows true leadership to the people of the Continent and which has a positive and strong economic outlook. We will be watched but it will not be a question of how others perceive us, nor will it be a question of our being perceived as the good boys and girls of Europe; it is ultimately for us to be selfish about our economic future and that of our children. This is why we must vote "Yes"; it is not for anybody on the mainland of Europe.

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