Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We were told the statement of the summit meeting of 29 June was a game changer. It created hope and an expectation that the statement would be followed through with action. Since then, countries such as Austria, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands have put a serious doubt over the statement of 20 June. Mario Draghi downplayed the idea of monetary financing which is what Ireland needs.

When it was suggested that there might be an extension of the time to close our budget deficit the Tánaiste went on television and said people "wanted this over with". I agree that people want to see some hope. I use the word "hope" rather than "confidence" which is the terminology of the markets. In the absence of some degree of certainty it will be impossible to engender that hope.

I read the Taoiseach's statement but I could not see any follow through on the statement of 29 June. The Taoiseach must state clearly that the statement of 29 June has not given the certainty it was intended to give. It has not clarified the position regarding legacy debt and has opened up a dialogue that is really damaging. Will the Taoiseach seek a new statement or a clarification of the statement of 29 June? If that statement was the view of EU leaders, surely the forthcoming Council meeting should issue a clarification of what was intended. We urgently need that.

We owe something like €51 billion over and above our GDP, and it is increasing. This is predominantly because of the socialisation of banking debt. People would have been prepared to put up with punishment if they had seen an end to the crisis, but they are not prepared to accept the current paralysis. It is affecting the national mood, discouraging people from starting businesses and driving emigration, which is not a solution.

At the forthcoming Council meeting, I ask the Taoiseach to raise the urgent need to clarify what was meant by the statement of 29 June. Does it include legacy debt? We could accept postponement of the solution until March 2013 if it was clear that we are working towards a solution by that date. There is, however, a serious doubt among most Irish people that what was said on 29 June actually meant that legacy debt would be dealt with.

The IMF statement on austerity is most serious. I will be astonished if it does not find its way onto the agenda for the Council meeting. If the IMF is indicating that austerity will further damage the prospect of recovery, serious attention needs to be paid to that view in terms of changing direction.

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