Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

In less than 44 days, the people of Ireland will go to the polls and vote on the fiscal compact treaty in what will be the most significant litmus test yet for our country's relationship with the European project. Much debate and deliberation will take place between now and then on the pros and cons of the treaty, as it should in any vibrant and healthy democracy. I look forward to engaging in these discussions and fleshing out the various arguments on different sides as the opportunities arise. As the leader of my party, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Gilmore, so eloquently put it in this Chamber earlier today, "Ireland may be an island, but the borders of its trade, currency and workforce stretch across oceans." It is a member of a 17 country currency, the eurozone and is part of a European market of 500 million people. In other words, one cannot ignore the basic fact that our nation is deeply embedded in the structures of the eurozone and that its economic future is intertwined with those of its counterparts within the project. The treaty is the latest manifestation of this relationship and is a crucial part of the architecture that has been built by eurozone leaders to address the sovereign debt crisis. Other stabilisation mechanisms already introduced include early warning systems, enhanced financial regulatory structures and bank recapitalisation requirements.

In short, the treaty aims to foster greater budgetary discipline and responsibility among eurozone countries by introducing various innovations such as the so-called golden rule, which for the first time ever will set a target on a country's structural budget balance. In addition, contracting parties must observe medium-term objectives, namely, country-specific targets which take account of a country's economic potential and implicit liabilities, such as those that arise from an ageing population and so on. Crucially, the ratification of the treaty will ensure contracting countries have access to the European Stability Mechanism, ESM. This would be a crucial part of Ireland's toolkit, should there be a need to access it once the existing bailout program expires in 2014.

Contrary to much of the ill-conceived rhetoric being peddled by anti-treaty sides, this is anything but an austerity treaty. It is a stability treaty and its ratification is fundamental to the growth of the economy, to the creation of jobs and to the restoration of competitiveness, which was so badly eroded by the previous Fianna Fáil-led Administration. The treaty is the latest step in a sustained process of confidence rebuilding that has been taking place between Ireland andinternational investors in recent months. Today, 500 jobs were announced in Dublin and Galway. Other announcements have flowed in recent months from companies such as Datalogic, PayPal, SourceDogg and Eli Lilly, which is located in Kinsale in my constituency of Cork South-West. Such announcements have not arisen by coincidence but are the result of renewed political and economic stability in Ireland, brought about by a pan-European approach to solving the sovereign debt crisis and re-instilling fiscal discipline in countries. Investors and employers around the globe are enthused by Ireland's story of recovery and in particular by what it has to offer them as a European base for business. However, they also need reassurance that Ireland is pursuing a sensible, disciplined budgetary agenda and is taking seriously the task of stabilising its economy after years of reckless mismanagement. Therefore, by ratifying this treaty, Ireland is sending a robust message to potential global investors that this is a country that is confident, united and is a place worthy of doing business and in which to create jobs. It is not the solution to the jobs crisis but will lock into the Government's broader pro-jobs and pro-growth strategy and will send a strong signal to the world that Ireland is serious about stability.

The European Union, as we now know it, was born out of the European Coal and Steel Community, which was established under the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and the European Atomic Energy Community, which was set up in the same year under the EURATOM treaty. The European Union is the longest running and most successful peace process on the planet. Henry Kissinger once asked: "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?" We need a strong, balanced and reasonable debate, based on the content of the treaty and not on extraneous issues which others may wish to introduce. European relations with Ireland have never been better. In the short 13 or 14 months during which it has been in power, the Government has renegotiated the EU-IMF deal. That was a huge achievement for the country. The Government has also done a deal on the promissory notes, which is another example of how good relations are between Ireland and Europe.

Balanced democracy is not about assaulting gardaí or RTE cameramen, neither is it about the failure of certain Members of this House to dissociate themselves from thuggish and violent behaviour. It is instead about balanced and diverse views and robust debate. I would welcome such balance and diversity in the context of the debate on this Bill.

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