Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Despite assurances since the last European Council meeting, we are all still uncertain as to whether banking debt will be separated from sovereign debt and how this will come about. We heard about a seismic shift, a game changer and that a banking deal was done to separate Ireland's banking and sovereign debt. However, recently, high profile member states have moved away from the Government's June statement and there is a view that people were gilding the lily regarding what was agreed at the time.

The recent statement from the German, Finnish and Dutch Finance Ministers, that the agreement does not involve legacy debts, carries huge importance because the countries are the strongest triple-A rated states in Europe. Their statement was a game changer and hugely significant. The June statement will not be implemented without the support of the Germans, Dutch and the Finns. My party colleague, Deputy MacDonald, said the message from these Finance Ministers was that Ireland should get lost. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has been quoted as saying the Government is engaged in a diplomatic offensive to implement the decision of 29 June to break the link between banks and the sovereigns and to enhance the sustainability of our debt. Our concern is that the diplomatic strategy and diplomatic offensive does not appear to be working.

Irish people were told they should pass the fiscal compact treaty so as not to send a negative signal to the EU and the markets and that it would strengthen Ireland's hand in negotiations on its debt. Despite ratifying the fiscal compact, the concessions on our bank debt the Government had hoped for, on foot of ratification, may not materialise. Without any irony, we are being told that any re-negotiation would send a negative message. Ireland must get a fair deal as soon as possible. It is the Government's job to get the deal. I would warmly welcome any deal that reduces the burden working people have to pay for the gambles of bankers and speculators. As long as banking and sovereign debt are tied together, the Irish banking sector and, by consequence, the State's finances and the economy cannot function effectively in the best interest of Ireland and its people.

I listened to the debate on negativity. Many of us will be glued to the television screens tonight to watch the football game against the Faroe Islands. I watched the press conference with Giovanni Trapattoni yesterday. He said he had the confidence of the dressing room. I am sure the Taoiseach has the confidence of the Cabinet and his backbenchers but the difficulty is that he is losing the confidence of the fans or the people of Ireland. We want to wear the green jersey and we want to see it work. We want to see Ireland qualifying but we are not seeing the results. Perhaps, similar to Mr. Trapattoni, we need to examine the system we are using. People referred to this as a fractious meeting but perhaps we need a Shane Long for the negotiations with our European counterparts.

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