Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

When will we stop bailing out the banks and start to adopt a different approach where we prioritise people, jobs, economic growth and employment? The Government defends its position by saying that at least there is talk in Europe now of there being assistance to the banks that will not be channelled through the sovereign and will not be unloaded onto the backs of ordinary citizens and the books of member states. That is the Government's big play after the referendum, that it is hoping that the ground is shifting in Europe and that we will be able possibly to ride on the back of whatever Spain gets in the hope that we can get a retrospective deal on bank debt. However, Mrs. Angela Merkel responded to the Government's appeals only days after it had done what she demanded it do in passing the fiscal treaty and said: "Nein, nein, nein." While that is German for "No, no, no.", it could equally be the 999 emergency number we will need to ring for the European economy if we keep going down the road of this disastrous austerity.

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