Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

It is scandalous, particularly as the Labour Party is involved, that we will debate under a guillotine, not just today but tomorrow, items of fundamental importance to the future of Europe and the sovereignty of citizens in this country. Our comments must be corralled into a very short space, which is wholly unacceptable. It is a complete U-turn, yet again, by the Government which was elected on the basis of talking about changes, transparency, open government and involvement of our citizens. It is a shame, and the Labour Party should be particularly embarrassed by it.

Some of the transitional measures in the legislation regarding MEPs are fine but the key reason we will oppose it is the fact it involves the facility to amend Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This was a central issue in the debate we had on the fiscal treaty. It is somewhat ironic and regrettable we are discussing it now as one would think these measures were in place, given the debate of recent weeks. Despite the protests of Fianna Fáil, in order to make these amendments, we need the unanimous agreement of all member states.

The European Union clearly needs the amendment to set up the permanent bailout fund, as it calls it, although "bailout" is a harmless term for what is really extortion. Loan-sharking would be a more accurate way of putting it. The idea, as put forward by Fianna Fáil, that we are simply facilitating the creation of a reliable source of funding is ludicrous. It might have been ridiculous last week in the debate on the fiscal treaty, but this week, given the events in Spain, it is completely ridiculous. Spain alone could subsume the entire fund without any other country getting a look in. The problem is that Europe is at a crossroads and rather than taking stock and changing direction, we are perpetuating the same mistakes and digging a deeper hole.

Fianna Fáil asks from where we will get the money, which was the stock argument in the last few weeks. The facilitation of the setting up of the ESM was supposedly to save the eurozone, but we continue to see huge pressures exerted. A default by Greece or other countries would lead to enormous costs if the eurozone was broken up. There are pressures in that regard. By asking from where we will get the money, it avoids the central question of why we are looking for it. One of the key reasons is bank debt; for us to pay back debts that were never ours in the first place. We must see this debate in that context.

I nearly feel sorry for the Taoiseach, given how much he has been slapped around in the last few days since the passing of the fiscal treaty. Despite his bleating about getting a better deal, he has been firmly slapped into place by his German colleagues and had to admit that despite the passing of the fiscal treaty referendum, it is unlikely the bank debt issue will be sorted out. Let us face it, he was told to go away and that the European Union had more important things to be worried about than him and his bank debt. It shows how naive the Government was in its approach to the referendum and the whole issue of bank debt that is imposing such severe austerity on the lives and living standards of ordinary people across the State.

Doffing the cap will not work. The Government has been told this; therefore, it must take stock and look at this issue in a different way. It is not too late; even though the people voted to pass the fiscal treaty, that does not mean the treaty has been ratified, it merely gives the Government permission to ratify it on behalf of the people. Presumably that permission could be altered afterwards. There is a precedent for this in that the people voted to change the way people were elected to Seanad Éireann, but the then Government did not enact the legislation to make that change. The Government, therefore, has the power not to ratify the fiscal treaty.

The Tánaiste should make a stand because it is clear now is the time for the Government to stand up or be bypassed. We should join the rest of Europe which has not ratified the treaty. We see growing instability in countries such as Germany in which opposition parties have made it clear they are not interested in signing up to the treaty based on the fact that there are no growth criteria. We see in countries such as the Netherlands massive growth in the polls for those parties opposed to austerity and nothing will happen until the Greek and French elections are out of the way. We have the chance to do something, not to let the moment pass. The Government should consider this because we are debating a major change to a key European Union treaty to set up a permanent fund that will cost the country economically and socially.

There has been a lot of discussion about strict conditionality. In the debate on the treaty we were led to believe it just meant that we would sign up to the treaty and then have access to the ESM fund. That is not the case. This is a code word for the acceleration of vicious austerity, a programme of major macro-economic adjustment which will be spearheaded by the European Commission and Central Bank which will decide on key issues of economic policy in Ireland that will have a major impact on citizens. That is what it means - the policies that are being enforced and the neoliberal agendas highlighted yesterday when talking about events in Latvia in recent years where 10% of the population were forced to leave the country, 30% of public sector workers were sacked and the remaining employees had a 40% pay cut. As a result, the Latvian economy shrank by 25%. It has turned around a little, with a small growth figure last year, which is being lauded as a great achievement, but it masks the butchery that took place before it. No economy, never mind a group of economies such as those in the European Union, has ever been turned around by austerity measures. Ratifying this treaty would increase the European tendency to put the interests of bankers and big business ahead of those of the people or the social charter the European Union was designed to deliver.

When we look at changing the treaties to facilitate the establishment of the ESM, we see the Labour Party and Fine Gael going along with it. Article 15 of the ESM treaty indicates how the funds can be used to recapitalise financial institutions. The Labour Party has made a great virtue of how it opposed the bank guarantee, while Fine Gael claims it did not realise what was happening, that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party were to blame and that if Fine Gael had had access to all of the information, it would not have supported the bank guarantee either. What else does this article provide for except a similar situation in all of Europe, transferring private bank debts on to the shoulders of European citizens? Those who were supposedly opposed to this in Ireland, who would have done something about it had they been in government, are now in power and have the opportunity to do it because the Government enjoys the power of veto and has the ability to use its voice such that the rest of Europe will sit up and take notice. Contrary to the remarks made that such a course of action would leave us isolated, it would result in an almighty cheer throughout the rest of Europe from our fellow citizens who have been reeling from austerity measures.

We are talking about facilitating a fund we may or may not be able to access but into which we will definitely have to pay money. The fund is based on an €11 billion provision. From where will this money come? It is money that can be called upon, with an initial payment of €1.47 billion, but we must pay the money in instalments, starting with a sum of €225 million next month, from an economy that is already on its knees and paying billions in interest payments on previous debts. There is the proviso that the amount can be increased at any time, with a demand for the full amount to be paid should it be deemed necessary by the board which will adjudicate on the matter. We have the ludicrous situation where a fund is being set up in order that we can have access to it, but we must also pay into it. By virtue of the setting up of the fund in the first place, it could be instrumental in pushing us in the direction of a second bailout, the very thing it was allegedly set up to prevent. This is economic lunacy and a massive infringement on the sovereign rights of citizens of this state.

We do not have time to develop the points made and, sadly, not all of us will be able to speak in the debate tomorrow on the ESM proper because it is to be guillotined. The idea of legal immunity being built into the ESM such that it will not be accountable or subject to freedom of information requests is scandalous. Crucially, there is the issue of whether a referendum is necessary. I think it is but the matter is before the courts. It is ironic that while we are discussing this legislation, which the Government intends to ram through following a vote, the courts are wondering what way they will adjudicate on it. It does not matter what way this is packaged. The reality is that what is bring provided for is a major transfer of sovereign powers and a major signing off of funds belonging to the citizens and how they will be spent and handed over. The idea that people would not have a say on this or that elected Members would have their debate guillotined is an affront.

The Government parties' method of doffing the cap has been exposed in the past few days. They have been shown to be a bit player in Europe. People are not particularly interested in what they have to say and the polite approach does not work. They still have an opportunity to show a bit of muscle and they should do that by opposing this legislation and the legislation on the ESM which will be before the House tomorrow.

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