Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

In the upcoming referendum we will be asked to vote "Yes" or "No" to a new EU treaty, a stark "Yes" or "No" to the EU fiscal compact treaty. Its title is a mouthful and quite uninviting. It gives the impression that the treaty is complex and that only PhD scholars can read it, debate it or reason its merits. However, when all the jargon is left to one side, the treaty is quite simple. It imposes rules on EU countries to ensure governments live within their means. Spending cannot be greater than what is taken in; it is simple economics. For the Government, this will mean that our spending on schools, hospitals and playgrounds cannot be greater than our income from taxes such as income and value added tax. This is not rocket science. Every student across the country knows we should not spend what we do not have.

We just need to consider the financial mess Ireland and other countries like Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain are in to see the importance of strict spending rules. The European Stability Mechanism has €800 billion in reserves. That is significant insurance and it will provide reassurance to investors that the Irish economy is well funded. Eli Lilly, Microsoft, PayPal, Sky and Hewlett Packard recently invested in Ireland because we are a safe bet, we have access to funding and we are at the heart of Europe.

An Irish "No" vote will not stop the treaty from happening. For the Nice and Lisbon treaties, Ireland's "Yes" vote was essential for them to come into effect. In those treaties, Ireland had negotiation powers because the other countries needed us to sign and agree to the terms. This new treaty is different. It only requires 12 eurozone countries out of 17 to ratify it before it comes into effect. In this sense, the train is leaving one way or the other.

We have no power to ask for changes to its terms as our signature is not needed. We must decide whether we want to be on that train or not. We cannot negotiate for a better fare; the train is full with or without us. If we vote "No", we will still be members of the euro but the closeness of our relationship will be affected. Like a student that cuts himself off from his family, we will be left vulnerable and isolated. If we vote "No" we will still have to reduce our deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2015. This funding is not under threat and the terms under which it is being provided will not change but if we vote "No", we will not receive any support above what is currently agreed in our programme of support from the EU-IMF. However, like the student, we may face unexpected costs, and like the student that cuts himself off from the family, we might run out of money and options, and into risk.

If we vote "Yes", the treaty will come into play when our programme of support ends in 2016. We will then be required to reduce our deficit from 3% to less than 0.5%. We will not be required to do this overnight. We will have a maximum of 20 years to do so and such spending control under the treaty is in our interest. It will prevent political parties buying elections. In recent years political success was often bought and such temptation will arise again. If we vote "Yes", strict money spending controls will prevent this. A "Yes" vote will reduce political corruption because the Government will not be able to go mad spending before an election to win votes and run up debts. This treaty will ensure the Government makes long-term plans.

We cannot sustain an overspend of €10 billion annually. A wise parent would not bankroll a student who continually spends beyond what the household can afford. Likewise, the EU will not continue to support Ireland unless we live within the reality of our situation.

As a teacher I always advised students to read an exam question carefully. When they were finished I advised them to read it again and then again. The question we will be asked on 31 May is whether Ireland should adopt the EU stability treaty, not if we agree with septic charges or the household charge or whether we like this Government. If we answer the right question, the answer will be a resounding "Yes". A "Yes" vote will not reduce us to a student's diet of baked beans but a "No" vote might.

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