Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Tomorrow I will be visiting the Employment and Advice Fair in Wexford. There will be 400 jobs available offered by both local and international companies such as Zurich Insurance. I want to see more of these international companies choosing to locate in Ireland.

Voting "Yes" to the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union will show that Ireland is willing to play its part in building a more financially stable European Union. There is a mighty advantage in staying the course with the European Union. The signals from every corner of Europe are that collective action to boost growth and investment offers a much better prospect of restoring the health of national budgets than sole reliance on austerity. Such a pro-growth agenda should incorporate initiatives to relieve the cost of bank rescues, a particularly onerous burden on Ireland but a vital ingredient of a general mix to assist, for example, Spain. Bank debt is not exclusively an Irish issue. The arrival of Mario Draghi at the head of the ECB has significantly changed many aspects of that institution's attitude. There is a lot more to be done to help beleaguered countries. We are far better off making that case with like-minded Governments inside the European tent rather than being a lone voice on the periphery.

As we have established in the course of the past 12 months, reputation means everything in the modern world. Political scientists call it soft power. It is the capacity to influence events and policies in the wider world that arises from the respect earned by national efforts and sacrifices to overcome a crisis. I represented the Government in New York where I attended about 40 events and venues. I received a strong message which was complimentary to the Irish people that we were doing our best to overcome the crisis.

An opinion poll reported in The Irish Times today finds that 30% of respondents are likely to vote for the treaty on 31 May; 23% said they would vote "No"; 39% were undecided, while 8% said they would not vote. That is a large number of people who have yet to make up their minds. Earlier today the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs launched the Government's stability treaty online public information campaign and website. This is the first part of what I promise will be a very vigorous and informative campaign. We will be posting a personal copy of the treaty to every household. The European stability treaty is just ten pages long and I urge every citizen to read it for himself and herself, but let me give a very short summary of what the latest European treaty is about. It is about the health of the euro in our pockets and the need to put it on a long-term stable footing. It is about ensuring foreign employers continue to invest here. It is about having an insurance policy that gives the country access to a special assistance fund, should we need it. It is about adopting a policy of good housekeeping which the country badly needs.

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