Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

If I understood the Minister correctly, he stated the EU Commission would allow this country to work out its own method of arriving at what the structural deficit will be. What will it be in 2015 and onwards? With regard to growth, the Minister mentioned many structural adjustments and mentioned 150,000 former construction workers who should be retrained to find their way back to work. I concur with this but does the Minister agree unless major investment is made in the economy these workers can be retrained to a high degree but they will not find jobs? This type of investment is critical. Does the Minister agree corporations are sitting on €2 trillion of uninvested profits in Europe and this is a massive problem? Public investment is required. What will the EU do about this?

For the sake of clarity the Minister should correct what he stated earlier. Does he acknowledge that Article 3 of the ESM treaty means any country whose crisis could destabilise the eurozone will have access to funds and this will take precedence over a recital? In particular the Minister should correct the fact he stated the Irish Government does not have a veto over the ensconcing of the ESM treaty in EU law. Why did the prime ministers and presidents come up with an amendment to Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to do just this if it is not required?

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