Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

I wish to elaborate on a few matters I mentioned during Leaders' Questions today. I am not sure it matters terribly whether Ireland is President of the Union. I hope it does and that the Presidency gives us a pivotal position for influencing the European Union agenda.

Since 2008, when we hit the rocks financially, we have punched well below our weight. Perhaps it was not totally our fault. If we are to continue to pursue the agenda dictated to us, by Germany in particular, I am not sure our Presidency will be marked by anything except continued subservience to greater and stronger powers overseas. I would like to hear a vision of our goals in a specific way for those six months from the Minister of State, the Taoiseach and any Minister with responsibility in this area. There is a danger that we will pursue an agenda that means we will do nothing for Ireland. There is also a danger that we will do the bidding of Germany and other more powerful countries. There is a danger that any nation that holds the Presidency will undertake a finger in the dyke operation because of the crisis, which is permanent as far as we can see. We should not hold out much hope unless the Government fills us with hope by presenting us with a vision and specific goals for Europe and Ireland.

There is no doubt that in the past week there has been an opportunity provided for Ireland, specifically, and smaller nations. What happened in France is monumental and seismic. The balance of power in Europe has changed. There is no longer an ideological unity between the strongest countries in Europe. There was an unhealthy ideological unity, as any ideological unity between two such powerful nations would be. I welcome the fact that François Hollande has taken over, specifically because he represents something different to Chancellor Angela Merkel. If the Irish Government is to play a role in the Presidency, rather than being a cypher for Chancellor Merkel, I hope it will play the role of adjusting the balance of power in Europe so there is balance. At the moment there is no balance of power in Europe. It is German-led and joined by France, with the rest of the nations falling into line. I urge the Government to take that attitude and not to be a German satellite. It is the duty of the Government to crack up this monolithic duopoly that has dominated Europe for so long.

I welcome the outbreak of democracy in Europe in the past week. There is a possibility, as the last speaker mentioned, of people seizing back power from the apparatchiks, the bureaucracy, the Commission, the European Central Bank and the major powers that have dominated. I do not agree with a large number of statements made by the extremists on either side in Greece but it is welcome that they have sent the message that they matter. Inconvenient as it is, the people at the top who have been dictating the pace must take their views into account. That is true in Greece as it is in France.

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