Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

Um thráthnóna, léirigh mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Pearse Doherty, tuairimí Shinn Féin ar an Bhille atá mar bhunús an chonartha. Ba mhaith le Sinn Féin go mbeadh meicníocht airgeadais phráinneach ag an eurozone. Tá sé riachtannach. Sinn Féin wants the eurozone to have an emergency funding mechanism. We want such a fund because the disastrous policies of the previous and current Governments are such that the State will not be able to return to the sovereign bond markets in 2014 and will be in need of a second round of emergency funding. We also believe emergency funding is necessary to assist in stabilising the eurozone and protecting vulnerable member states from speculative market attack. However, it is important when establishing a permanent emergency funding mechanism that we learn from the mistakes of the past and ensure the new fund is fit for purpose and that it will do what it says on the tin, assist member states in regaining access to the sovereign bond markets and stabilise the euro.

Unfortunately, the Government and its partners in the European Council have not learned the very simple lesson of the past two years of the crisis, namely, that the policy they have been pursuing is failing. It is worth mentioning that, after 450 days of Fine Gael and Labour in government, the unemployment rate is still increasing in the State. Clearly, they have not learned the lesson that the EFSF, as a tool for assisting states to regain access to the sovereign bond markets, has also failed. When former Deputy Arthur Morgan was Sinn Féin's spokesperson on finance, he rightly predicted that the EFSF would be a failure and opposed the original Euro Area Loan Facility Bill in May 2010. He stated then that the EU facility and the loans it would provide to Greece were not an act of solidarity to assist a beleaguered fellow member state. He told this House that it would be a massive bailout for toxic banks, the cost of which would be paid by taxpayers across Europe.

Events over the past 12 months in Greece, Portugal and Ireland confirm beyond doubt that former Deputy Morgan was right. Greece is now in a second program and Portugal is on course for a second programme. What greater admission of failure could there be than the recent pronouncements by Ministers that Ireland, in all probability, will need a second round of emergency funding in 2014?

In September last, when the EFSF returned to the Dáil as part of the agreement of a second programme for Greece, my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, warned the Government again that it was pursuing the wrong policies. Sinn Féin opposed the Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill because it did not present any comprehensive solution to the crises gripping the eurozone. It also introduced, in the most underhand way, the European Stability Mechanism, which, as Deputy Pearse Doherty outlined earlier, contains many problems for Ireland and the eurozone.

Almost a year on, the Government is repeating the same mistakes. It still believes an emergency fund based on policies of crippling austerity and unlimited bank bailouts will be good for Ireland and for the eurozone as a whole. Sinn Féin's firm view is that Ireland and the eurozone need an emergency funding mechanism, not only because Ireland will have to access it by 2014 but also because it is vital to stabilise the euro. This is why we supported the proposed amendment to Article 136 of the European treaty.

However, there is no point in agreeing to a fund that is not fit for purpose, that will not achieve its stated objectives and that in all likelihood will make matters worse. The ESM, in its current form, will not solve the problem. It is based, like the EFSF, on the failed policies of crippling austerity and unlimited bank bailouts. Unless the ESM treaty is amended, Sinn Féin will not be in a position to support this Bill.

Fortunately for Ireland and for the eurozone, a window of opportunity exists to amend the ESM treaty and improve the funds that are available. Other EU member states are actively seeking changes to the treaty as well. These changes could be made well before the upcoming European Council summit at the end of June. The Government should do likewise.

Next week, on Committee Stage, Sinn Féin will table amendments to the European Stability Mechanism Bill. The amendments will be based on five key changes that we believe are required for the ESM to do what it is being set up to do. They are: an explicit option of ESM funds being used to invest in jobs and growth as part of a credible deficit reduction strategy rather than the current focus on austerity; an option for direct ECB funding of the ESM to provide the necessary firewall to stabilise the euro while limiting the liability to taxpayers and individual member states; a clause ensuring that countries already in a programme are not required to contribute to the fund; a requirement for strict stress tests and write-down of toxic debt as a precondition for any ESM funds being used to recapitalise the banks, whether directly or indirectly via loans to government; and greater accountability at EU and member state levels and the removal of the immunity granted to the fund and its board members.

It is time for the Government to stand up for the interests of Irish citizens, just as the Government of Spain has been doing for its citizens. Ensuring Ireland has access to an emergency fund that works for Ireland is the best way of doing this. Ní réitóidh an ESM mar atá sé na fadhbanna sa eurozone nó sa Stát seo. Táim ag impí ar an Rialtas dúiseacht as a chodladh, bheith cróga agus seasamh suas ar son mhuintir na hÉireann.

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