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

I am sharing time with Deputies Ross, Fleming, Wallace and Joan Collins.

The Government's dishonesty in its attempt to deceive people on the issue of our debt burden and the fiscal treaty is really staggering. We know the Government conspired with EU leaders to try to avoid the referendum on the fiscal treaty. That was confirmed to us by the German European affairs minister. When the Government could not avoid the referendum, it came up with a new dishonesty to deceive people into believing they are getting relief on the debt burden on the so-called promissory note. In reality, it is not relieving that debt burden one bit, but in fact has made a sovereign debt of a crazy commitment - but only a commitment - made by Fianna Fáil to pay off the gambling debts of Anglo Irish Bank. This makes less likely the possibility of the write down of that debt and guarantees that the debt is now foisted permanently on to the backs of working people and the vulnerable in our society.

The key gimmick, to which the Sinn Féin motion refers, is to suggest that if people oppose the fiscal treaty, they will be cut off from funding from the European stability mechanism. The Government has peddled this line over the last number of weeks, putting a gun to the heads of the Irish people to try to bully them into voting for the treaty, only to discover that in fact the gun does not exist. It is in construction and the Government is party to constructing it. That gun cannot be pointed at people's heads unless we pass the European stability mechanism through this Dáil.

Will the Minister of State give an assurance that the Government will not point the gun at the heads of the Irish people and bully them into voting in favour of the fiscal treaty? Will he assure us that the European stability mechanism legislation will not come in until after people have had the chance to vote on the fiscal treaty?

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