Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

When I speak to the big multinational employers, many of them in Blanchardstown in my constituency, they tell me that one reason they continue to locate in Ireland is that they believe this country is committed to the European Union. We have punched well above our weight in attracting foreign direct investment into Ireland. Companies such as PayPal, Google and Facebook locate in Ireland because they see it as a committed member of the eurozone. In a globalised economy the eurozone is an important financial region, with a very large population of more than 400 million. Multinational companies are interested in having a presence in Ireland because of the attractions we have to offer as part of the eurozone, as well as our corporation tax rates. There is also the fact that we are English speaking and have a large number of very well educated young people. I firmly believe voting "Yes" in the referendum will show Ireland is willing to play its part in building a more financially stable European Union and eurozone. Voting "Yes" to the treaty will help to stabilise the euro and boost investor confidence in Ireland. Voting "No" would bewilder American and other foreign companies which are planning their European investments. It could threaten the hard won business opportunities we are building in China and elsewhere.

There is a big advantage in staying the course with the European Union. For a start, collective action to boost growth and investment offers a much better prospect of restoring the health of national budgets rather than sole reliance on austerity. Our previous experience of such joint European action through the Regional and Social Funds, for example, was almost entirely positive. Our roads and colleges are the legacy of these funds that we continue to enjoy today.

Ireland is not alone in its troubles. Bank debts and unemployment haunt many European economies. There is much more to be done to help beleaguered countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Spain, but I firmly believe we are far better off making that case with like-minded Governments inside the European tent rather than being a lone voice outside. The Government has put a painstaking effort into rebuilding Ireland's reputational capital in Europe, the USA and the emerging global powerhouse that is China. There are some indications that this effort is bearing fruit, notably in the confirmation by leading international companies that Ireland continues to be as much a magnet for inward investment as it was a decade ago, despite our severe economic difficulties. A "No" vote would upend that process.

Countries do not have friends, they have interests. That is particularly true of a small country which has successfully chosen to base its development and prosperity on being a trading nation. It is in our interests to be inside every European Council, committed to national budget discipline as one significant but far from exclusive part of a strategy to promote growth and job security in every corner of Europe. It is entirely contrary to our interests to take a reckless gamble now that would leave Ireland isolated, perplex our friends and exasperate those who are funding the State until we restore our capacity to do so ourselves. We have seen where reckless gambling has taken us and we do not wish to gamble our future again.

We are borrowing approximately €50 million a day to plug the gap between what we raise in taxes and what we spend. There is no escape from fiscal restraint in our current situation. To pretend otherwise is dishonest.

Voting "Yes" will give Ireland a safety net in terms of access to a special European assistance fund, if needed. A "No" vote may give the appearance of independence, but it could require Ireland to negotiate emergency funds that might have tougher conditions attached. I have lived in countries in which there was a default. It was not an experience I would recommend to anyone.

It is said truth is the first casualty of war. Experience tells us that truth is also a casualty of febrile political campaigns; that is particularly true of European referendum campaigns in Ireland. Here is one inconvenient truth that will be as valid the day after the referendum count as the day before, no matter what the result of the people's vote is - Ireland is borrowing about €50 million a day. That cannot continue indefinitely. Voters have to decide if they want Ireland to have continuing, although conditional, access to European funds while we work our way through the tax and spending changes and cuts to eliminate the deficit and restore our independent capacity to fund ourselves in the longer term. I know we will experience a barrage of posters that will urge us to vote "No" to austerity, as if voting "No" could magically halt the austerity juggernaut in its tracks or reverse the disastrous bank and construction crash. It is irresponsible to hold out the false hope austerity can be avoided in a country that is so highly indebted. If we vote "No", we will not have access to the European Stability Mechanism which provides a helpful backstop in the form of an additional line of credit. In the absence of access to such a credit line, we would have to move even more rapidly towards a balanced budget, involving adjustments far in excess of the tumultuous budgets of recent years. As Minister for Social Protection and somone responsible for spending more than €20 billion, even in this time of austerity, I am conscious of how many rely on the support of social protection. Voters would not forgive us for advising them to vote "No", given that it would result in even more severe austerity and leave us without an important safety net.

This leaves voters with a classic catch-22 paradox. A "Yes" vote will give us a reasonable guarantee of access to funds, albeit under strict supervision. A "No" Vote may give the semblance of independence, but it will require Ireland to negotiate emergency funds that will have identical, if not even more onerous, scrutiny provisos. There is no escape, one way or the other, from fiscal restraint in our current situation. There is no honest realistic choice in front of voters that offers an easy escape from unpalatable budgetary measures. To pretend otherwise is to lead the country straight into a cul-de-sac.

This week the Taoiseach and IDA Ireland announced that US pharmaceutical company Mylan was expanding in Dublin and Galway, with the creation of over 500 jobs. It already employs over 700 employees here. US companies such as Mylan, PayPal, Sky and Facebook locate in Ireland for a number of reasons, including access to EU markets and the eurozone. That is the critical aspect about which people need to think. The eurozone is an important regional market in a globalised economy.

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