Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The only uncertainty is what is Sinn Féin's prescription if the treaty is rejected. What is the Sinn Féin position on the euro? Does Sinn Féin support the euro? Is Sinn Féin in favour of the euro? Does it want Ireland to return to sterling? What is its position on the euro? If we want to have the euro, then the rules governing the euro must be implemented and enforced and that has been one of the difficulties which the euro has experienced in recent times. The treaty will provide for a repetition of those rules and the means by which they are enforced and enshrined. The only uncertainty is what happens to Ireland's access to funding if we reject this treaty. The policy of this Government is that hopefully with the policies we are pursuing and are succeeding with that we will be out of the programme and hopefully will not need to have access to the ESM. If at any stage in the future we needed access to the ESM, how does the Deputy intend we get the money? These are the unanswered questions that, frankly, on this occasion, the Deputy will have to provide the answers. The Government is arguing that the treaty be ratified because it provides security for the euro. If the euro is secure and stable, this will increase the confidence of investors to invest in Europe and increasingly in Ireland and that is part of what Ireland needs in order to bring about economic recovery.

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