Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin profoundly disagrees with the Government's attitude to the European Union and its failure to stand up for Irish interests. Sinn Féin wants to see a Union of equals, a social Union embedded in citizens' rights as opposed to a two-tier Union with the larger states in the ascendancy and the Irish Government acquiescing to their wishes. Having said that, I wish the Taoiseach well as the Government prepares to assume the Presidency in the new year. I am sure he sees it as an honour and I wish him well in his endeavours.

The latest European Council summit repeated the pattern of previous summits of broken promises and pledges, somewhat like the pre-election promises of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. The crisis in the EU is repeatedly kicked down the road as Governments fail to agree on the best way forward. Last week's meeting, which followed on the failure of member states to agree a new seven-year budget in November, was supposed to see substantive progress on reforming the euro regime and the banking system. However, the roadmap devised by the President of the Council, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, ran into a roadblock and he was sent off with a "could do better" report card.

President Van Rompuy's roadmap was supposed to set out the way forward for the reduction of national fiscal and economic sovereignty in the interests of deeper economic and monetary union. Sinn Féin is opposed to fiscal union. Claims from certain quarters at last week's summit that the worst is behind us quickly came undone when the German Chancellor rubbished that view. Ms Merkel claimed that the EU faces at least another two difficult years involving high levels of unemployment and slow growth. It is clear that the German Government, which faces an election in September, has put German interests first. In these circumstances, should we be surprised that the Government is still no closer to the elusive deal on Ireland's bank debt which the Taoiseach claimed to have achieved in June? As this process continues to be strung out, our country's debt is heading for more than 120% of GDP, an entirely unsustainable level.  At the same time and despite all the conflicting bluster from Ministers, there is still no sign of a deal on the promissory note or the long awaited technical paper. I expect that a deal will indeed be cobbled together, but it will simply serve to push the problem up the road. The notion that we will not be asked to pay this debt is a figment of the Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte's, imagination.

Last week’s European Council summit agreed to the establishment of a single supervisory mechanism and a single resolution mechanism for European banks. Sinn Féin supports the strongest possible regulation of banks and banking at domestic and European level. The light touch regulation of the Fianna Fáil Government was clearly one of the major contributory factors of the banking crisis and the meltdown in the Irish economy. However, Sinn Féin has serious concerns about giving more power to an unelected and unaccountable body like the ECB. It contributed to the crisis through its low interest rate policy, which flooded Irish banks with cheap money and cheap credit. The ECB pushed Ireland into a bailout in 2010 and also appears to be one of the main obstacles to a deal on Ireland’s debt. Commentators have been rightly critical of the failure of the Irish banking regulators to regulate properly the banking sector. Can we have confidence the ECB is fit for purpose before these institutions are given increased powers? Just because regulation failed in this State does not necessarily mean the answer is to hand over regulation to the ECB. The ECB has not shown itself to have any special insight when it comes to running itself or contributing to the banking debate. The ECB wants all the rights but none of the responsibilities when it comes to the banks. It centralises control and supervision over banks, some of which have been nationalised, but refuses to provide a backstop for the euro or to capitalise the banks centrally. Sinn Féin has called for the ECB to be a lender of last resort for the euro; however, that is not on offer. Focusing solely on problems associated with monetary reform of the euro will not solve the crisis. Bank debt must be written down and a growth strategy for the EU must be pursued.

In this context I want to comment on Ireland’s forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU. On Monday, the Tánaiste outlined the priorities for the Presidency, which he said would be stability, jobs and growth. These are fine words but none of this has been delivered by the Government after 20 months in office. The six-month Presidency offers an opportunity for the State to show leadership at European level. It is an opportunity to move away from austerity towards a more socially inclusive EU and an opportunity to heal the disastrous social consequences of the austerity policies pursued by this and other EU Governments. Many important decisions will have to be made under Ireland’s watch, including the signing off on the EU’s seven year budget or the multi-annual financial framework. The Government should be arguing for a budget that will create jobs, retain jobs and invest in jobs. How can the EU be taken seriously when it talks about stimulus while at the same time looking at cutting, or at least not increasing, its budget? The Taoiseach needs to argue for an alternative approach, including a well-funded and fair CAP that prioritises working farmers. I urge the Government to ensure that, under its Presidency, a new PEACE programme is secured so the good work to date of the PEACE programmes is not squandered.

I welcome the Taoiseach's commitment to an all-Ireland element to the Presidency. I understand Government officials have liaised with officials from the Executive in the North, which is a good thing. Co-operation with the northern Executive is particularly important on issues like CAP and the PEACE programme

. Sinn Féin has consistently argued that the Government should take a sterner line in negotiations with our EU colleagues on debt. We should be frank with them, which means telling them our debt is not sustainable, that we cannot pay it and that we need action to alleviate the burden on our citizens to give our economy a fighting chance of recovery.

During pre-summit statements last week, I asked the Taoiseach to raise the case of Mr. Pat Finucane, either formally or informally, in light of the publication of the de Silva review. I am disappointed the Taoiseach made no mention of it in a statement. I also asked him to raise illegal actions by the Israeli Government following the welcome ceasefires between the Israeli Government and the Palestinians. I am also disappointed there is no mention of this in the statement.

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