Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate how disappointing it is that the Taoiseach did not see fit to stay to listen to one third of the Opposition, which the Technical Group comprises.

In my view this round of budget negotiations cannot be separated from the economic crash although that is the context in which the talks are taking place. Looking back over recent years, there is no doubt that the entire economic crisis has been hugely mismanaged by the same people who will provide the leadership for the next seven years of budget negotiations. One question we must ask is what are the guiding principles driving this set of negotiations. We cannot separate the two. The guiding principles of the European Union include sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy that aims for full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment.

I refer to the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among member states. We cannot say we saw much solidarity. It is important to ask what is guiding these talks because there are two distinct and evident blocs, one a liberal market bloc, the other a social market bloc. I do not know to which one we have aligned ourselves but it is a case of choosing either-or. We either want to have a European Union that works in the interest of the peoples of Europe or a bloc that seeks a more limited approach, such as the example articulated by the Conservative Party in the UK, which sees the EU as merely a mechanism for engaging with a very large market, not about how that market functions for the people of Europe. It is important that we ask about the context in which these negotiations are taking place.

For example, are we prepared to jettison the solidarity we have an expectation and a right to have, given the founding principles of the European Union? Are we prepared to do that because at this point, given the economic crisis, we see it as a luxury ? Our vision should be to have a better Europe in seven years’ time rather than merely to consider the present situation. A vision cannot be delivered upon without an understanding of the context of budget negotiations over the coming seven years.

There is a key issue that needs to be negotiated from front to centre, namely, employment. Unless there is a serious initiative and a central employment theme to the budget negotiations, not only will we continue to leave people living in poverty and have inadequate budgets to run social services, we will risk returning to a point where, on the 100th anniversary of the commencement of the First World War, we revisit the problems that gave us not only one but two world wars. The reason the EU was founded was to address that situation in order that people could work in solidarity. That must be the central theme of these negotiations; it is about uniting the peoples of Europe.

This is not about the detail, but about the core. I did not hear that from the Taoiseach, although I heard the detail. I would welcome a response from the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, on the context of these negotiations.

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