Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

Everybody is for growth now. It is wonderful that everybody has been converted to the jobs and growth agenda. The Nobel Prize-winning economist, Professor Paul Krugman, did not need to write all those articles and get so upset after all. We were slowly realising that Professor Krugman and all the other economists who were looking at the situation, including Professor Stiglitz and Dr. Roubini, actually had a point.

When it was announced that a referendum campaign would be necessary, the choice to be made by the leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Martin, was an obvious one. He could not campaign against this treaty or against failed right-wing austerity policies being enshrined in our Constitution. When he was a Cabinet Minister, his Government was the architect of these policies in Ireland, which led to our failure to deal with the banking crisis. If Deputy Martin had campaigned against austerity during a television debate with the Tánaiste or the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, he would have been laughed out of the studio. Everybody at home would have been laughing as well. He made a pragmatic choice, in the interests of his own party, to align himself with the Government during this campaign. He should not accuse anybody of putting party before the State, or "the country" as he referred to it. It is all a bit of a nonsense, is it not?

In terms of the issue of growth, we in Sinn Féin have clearly said that these policies of austerity are failing in Ireland and across Europe. We just cannot cut our way out of a recession. When the Taoiseach returns home to Mayo, no doubt he talks to small businesses on the ground and no doubt they are telling him that if money is sucked from low to middle income workers and resources are taken from the people who sustain the domestic economy, then small businesses and the domestic economy will be strangled.

It was an insane policy to pursue but, unfortunately, it was pursued. Not only was it pursued but we sought to put in place a treaty and give constitutional protection to these policies so we would tie the hands of future Governments. Thankfully, somebody has said that the emperor has no clothes, and that somebody now, most important, is the President of France, Mr. Francois Hollande. During his campaign he stated that, if elected, he would not ratify this treaty as it is and he would seek to develop a growth strategy. When we raised this point, we were shouted down by the Government. Now, thankfully and helpfully, the French Minister, Mr. Pierre Moscovici, has repeated that point and made it clear that they will not ratify this treaty as it is and that there has to be a renegotiation.

I have to ask the question why our Government is so enthusiastically supporting yesterday's European Union. Why have we supported this treaty? Why have we not called for a renegotiation of this treaty? I certainly have not heard that yet. Why have we not called for changes to the text to promote growth? Why is that the Irish people have to rely on a French President to do the work for us and to act in our interests? Why is it that our Government, in which our people put so much hope, has not done that?

Now that there is a serious renegotiation of the treaty between France and Germany, we need to know the following. Is the Government involved in those negotiations? Are we now, as we speak, defending Ireland's interests or are we leaving it to the larger states once again to speak for us? Is the Government promoting eurobonds, a financial transaction tax and a bank lending licence for the European financial stability facility? If so, what are the details of the proposals being supported by the Government? Is the Government promoting or supporting an increase in the investment capacity of the European Investment Bank and, if so, to what level? Is the Government supporting changing the investment rules of the European Investment Bank and, in particular, the 50:50 ratio, which Sinn Féin had said it would like to see at 75:25? Can the House imagine what we could do with our National Pensions Reserve Fund allied to those funds in terms of driving forward our economy?

It is very important the Government outlines what is its strategy. An article by Mr. Fintan O'Toole in The Irish Times refers to a lawyer going to a citizen and saying: "Here is a contract, here are all the penalties, here is what can happen to you in the contract and here is what is going to happen to you if you do not sign this contract." When the citizen says: "Hold on a minute. Can you just tell me the full details of the contract?", the lawyer replies: "Away with you, that is none of your business. Sign this contract or this is what will happen to you." Can anyone imagine what the citizen would do? That is what is happening to our people.

To me, "Yes" is a positive and is something we should embrace. Yet, I have heard no positivity coming from Government in regard to this because Government members know that what would remain if they left out the threats and had to debate the merits of yesterday's European Union - of a treaty that represents a political ideology that is now being taken out across Europe. If we look at France, President Hollande has won, and in Germany, the Social Democrats, who have said they will not work with this, had a very significant success in the most recent regional elections, particularly in Rhine-Westphalia. If we look at local elections in Italy and Britain, it is clear that parties which oppose this approach of "austerity only" have been successful. The tide has turned, the game has changed, yet the Taoiseach is still presenting the old game. If he is not, could he outline to us at some opportunity, hopefully in debate with Deputy Gerry Adams on some television show in the not too distant future, what is his strategy for growth and what is the other part? The Taoiseach keeps saying this treaty is only part of the picture. What is the other part of the picture? Before he asks our people to enshrine in our Constitution - our precious and robust Constitution - protection for these policies, could we see the full picture? We would like to know where the Taoiseach is at with this.

Before I pass over to my deputy leader, I wish to address the issue of sovereignty. Would it not be nice to have a bit of truth? The Taoiseach famously said he wanted to be the Taoiseach who returns economic sovereignty to the Irish people - that was one of his big calls.

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