Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

During this crisis a pattern has been established of leaders working feverishly to implement short-term solutions which unravel quickly and make matters much worse. Yesterday, the fifth of the 17 member states of the eurozone applied for European funding because it could no longer borrow at affordable rates. It is no longer possible for anybody to argue that this crisis is the responsibility of individual irresponsible member states. It is a systemic problem and can only be tackled by urgent, radical and systemic reform, none of which appears in the agenda of the European Council.

Preparations are under way throughout Europe for the departure of Greece from the eurozone so it appears to be already too late to save the euro. The question now is whether a further and more dramatic escalation of the crisis can be prevented. Can we stop a disastrous set of developments which would destroy the euro, wreak enormous economic damage and perhaps even threaten the European Union? The social impact of a crisis which is already severe could become much worse.

This rapidly evolving scenario can be halted but we can only do so if the leaders of Europe admit their failures and start to address the fundamental flaws in the design of the euro. Unfortunately, the indications today are that Friday will not bring any major move forward and these indications have been confirmed by the Taoiseach's address to the House. At the core of this is the fact that there has been no real effort to build a consensus for reform among the broad base of member states. Increasingly, our Government is taking a leading role in this failure. When he was seeking a mandate from the people last year the Taoiseach wasted no opportunity to talk about how he had superior contacts in Europe because of his position in the European People's Party. In the middle of the campaign he jetted off to Berlin to show how apparently close he was to Chancellor Merkel. He promised that a diplomatic whirlwind of activity would engulf Europe if he were elected. What is most incredible is that after a year and a half in office, and during a crisis that threatens even more dramatic damage, the Taoiseach and the Government have yet to say exactly what is their policy on Europe. They have never produced a single document or speech setting out the reforms we want to see made to the EU and the eurozone.

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