Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Such as a 48% tax on those earning over €100,000. What we have been calling for is greater regulation, long before we got to this point. In the recent past those of us who challenged the status quo were branded economic illiterates. However, where we differ with the contents of the Bill is in how we measure responsibility and how we achieve an agreed definition of responsibility.

If passed, the Bill will not allow general Government debt to exceed 60% of GDP. If this happens, the Government must reduce that debt by 5% per annum. However, the stark reality is that Ireland's ratio was 108.5% at the end of the first quarter in 2012, one of the highest in Europe, with the average in the eurozone being 88.2%. The medium-term budgetary objective is a key element of the Stability and Growth Pact. It is a target for structural balance which takes into account existing debt levels as well as likely future liabilities arising from the ageing of the population. Each member state has a medium-term deficit objective for its budgetary position, defined in structural terms. The medium-term objectives are more stringent where the level of debt and estimated costs of an ageing population are higher. In other words, the Bill will punish states such as ours with an ageing population.

Section 6 of the Bill provides for the correction mechanism. This will be triggered if there is a significant deviation of the Government's budgetary position from the medium-term budgetary objective or, if relevant, from the adjustment path towards that objective. This is wholly unacceptable as it interferes with and undermines the sovereign position of the State in its own budgetary process. This mechanism forces the Government to take corrective action by submitting a plan outlining what is required to secure compliance with the budgetary rule.

Section 6(2) details the elements that should be included in this plan, including necessary revenue and expenditure measures, and the time over which compliance must be achieved.

If it takes longer than one year, the plan must include annual targets for achieving compliance. This will force further cuts and austerity measures on people who are unable to bear them. I refer to ordinary working people, many of whom are in negative equity or unemployed, who are innocent of being irresponsible. As outlined in section 6(3) of the Bill, the plan must comply with the Stability and Growth Pact, any recommendation made under it and the current stability programme. Section 6(4) allows for consideration of "exceptional circumstances" in the execution of the plan. The Government must submit a new plan if such exceptional circumstances cease to apply. Section 6(5) allows the Government to submit a statement outlining the steps it intends to take to avoid "a failure to comply with the budgetary rule" in cases where it considers that such a failure is likely to occur.

The process I have outlined, which is driven by Brussels bureaucrats, is undemocratic and unaccountable. Sadly, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have failed miserably to stand up to this or change it. The Bill will make it virtually impossible for the public or ordinary Members of the Dáil to have an impact on the budgetary decisions of a democratically elected Government. Ministers will be able to blame the European Union for unpopular budgetary decisions. It does not have to be like this, however. The Government, like its counterparts in Europe, has choices. It can achieve fiscal responsibility. As long as it continues to pursue its current polices, we will continue to witness increasing unemployment and an ever-contracting economy. It must pursue different policies - for example, by investing in job creation and reforming the tax system. It has failed to pursue these two core policies. Sinn Féin will launch its job creation document tomorrow, to be followed next month by the launch of our alternative budget. Both documents will clearly show the public that there is an alternative to the Government's failed polices. Sinn Féin's solutions are based on job creation, economic growth, inclusion and social justice.

I will give a solid example of how the Government could serve the people. It should exploit our offshore oil and gas reserves for the benefit of the country and its people. A new report by the Shell to Sea campaign group has revealed that oil and gas reserves in Ireland's seabed worth millions of euro have been licensed to private companies, with the State gaining just a tiny fraction of the profits. The report suggests Ireland's system of managing its oil and gas resources is "dysfunctional, out of step with the rest of the world, and heavily skewed in favour of [large] private companies". I appreciate that this system developed in the last decade and a half or two decades, before the Government came to power. Corrupt and poor governance has allowed our natural resources to be handed over to and exploited by others. At a time of economic hardship, it is a scandal that Ireland is not benefitting from its natural resources. I call on the Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, to reform the licensing and taxation regime. Existing oil and gas contracts should be renegotiated. Sinn Féin proposes that the State take a 50% shareholding in these resources and that an immediate levy of 48% and a royalty payment of 7.5% be introduced. These rates are quite low compared to those in other countries where this approach is normal. In addition, a State oil, gas and mineral exploration company which would actively participate and invest in exploration should be established.

Measures such as these would greatly benefit our ailing economy and transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens. We should be debating how best to exploit our natural resources in a sustainable manner that benefits the people. Instead, we are discussing a bad Bill which provides in legislation for polices that have failed miserably. Even the IMF is starting to see this.

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