Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2013 changes the arrangement for the bailout of Greek capitalism from its deep crisis and from the crisis of the European financial market system in general. This bailout and the vicious austerity agenda that is contingent on it has been an unmitigated disaster for the people of Greece. This amendment to the bailout terms does nothing whatsoever to alleviate this disaster. The arrangement proposed in the Bill, to be passed by all parliaments of the eurozone, is merely a rearrangement of the crude instruments of torture to try to keep the victims alive for a further period so their economic lifeblood can continue to drain away to the financial markets and the bankers of Europe.

Last year during the second general election campaign in Greece, the leader of the left-wing party Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, called for the repudiation of the unbearable debts foisted on the Greek people, including the massive troika loans used to bail out the Greek banks. Alexis Tsipras stated Greece was a social hell and demanded an end to the austerity package of the troika which is crushing workers in large swathes of the former middle strata of society. In these demands comrade Tsipras was absolutely right and represented the genuine interests of the Greek working class, the middle layers of society and the poor.

Some speakers here have outlined the extent of the crisis in Greece and its manifestations, the devastating effects of austerity and of the dictatorship of the European financial markets. In October 2012 unemployment rose to 26.8% officially. This had rocketed by a stunning 368,102 people since October 2011. In one year unemployment saw an increase of one third of 1 million and, shamefully, youth unemployment, was at 56.6% in October 2012, again at official figures which are no doubt understated. Wages have collapsed by up to 40% from 2010 to the present. Poverty and outright destitution are now rampant in Greek society. Public services are being dismantled, degraded and cut to the bone. Hospitals are starved of funds. In one shocking anecdote in Sismanogleio Hospital in Athens there was a reported instance of low paid workers suffering the cuts of austerity making a collection to buy the ingredients for soup for the patients. This is the European Union in 2013.

Small enterprises have closed by the thousands as the effects of austerity destroy the ability of ordinary people to purchase goods and services, exactly as is happening in Ireland. What has changed fundamentally in this euro area loan facility? It simply maintains the crushing burden of debt on the Greek people but agrees to spread it out somewhat further, for twice as long, and re-adjusts interest rates. Hence we have Annex 2 of the Bill, a table which shows the final payment will be made on 15 September 2041, so the children born this week will be in their 28th year when the last of the debts in this schedule are supposed to be paid. Children yet unborn will carry the burden of the crisis of Greek capitalism, of the European market system and of the bailout foisted on the Greek people to save the European market system.

The German bank tasked with administering the debts which are the subject of this Bill is KfW, or in English, the Reconstruction Credit Institute, misnamed one would have to say in this instance since this particular credit arrangement brings only destruction in its wake and not reconstruction. Crucially, this re-ordering of the Greek bailout will not lay a basis for the recovery of the Greek economy; the opposite will be the case. Unfortunately Greek debt is simply unsustainable and this does not change that.

The Minister for Finance stated yesterday with regard to the Irish debt that the possible new deal on Irish bank debt and general debt would be to extend the period of payments and adjust the interest rates.

The Minister for Finance said that lengthening the payments period for bank debt with reduced interest, however, is "not a game changer". This begs the question, what is the point in togging out and running on to the field if one has no prospect of being a game changer? In my view, the Minister meant that the proposal with regard to Irish debt, of spinning it out, does not alter the fundamental elements of the crisis, which are an unsustainable level of debt, the destruction of austerity, a crisis in the domestic economy driven down by austerity, and a catastrophic collapse in investment.

It is similar, if not exactly the same, for the Greek people. They need a fundamental change of policy, as do the Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, Irish and many other communities and peoples within the EU. However, crisis-plagued European capitalism will not provide the necessary radical changes or solutions. The sharks in European financial markets are only interested in feeding on their own profits and profiting from the misery of the Greeks, the Irish and others.

The Greek people are not the cause of this euro crisis, they are its victims. From the start, it was economic insanity to force weak capitalist economies like Greece - and like Ireland, despite the delusions of grandeur that existed at the time we entered the euro - into a common currency where it was quite clear they could not measure up to powerhouses of European capitalism, such as Germany, for example. At the time, the left pointed out that the euro straitjacket would inevitably bring about a crisis situation.

The paralysis in European capitalist economies is clear from the investment strike currently in place. Last year, theFinancial Timesand the Wall Street Journal published significant articles outlining how €3 trillion in accumulated profits by big European countries remained uninvested and lying in European banks, while 26 million people languished in unemployment. That is because European big business is not confident that against the current background it would make further profits by investing in productive capacity.

This increasingly shows the parasitic nature of European capitalism. The historic justification for capitalism was its development of productive forces, that it could unleash the productive capacity of humanity and transform many areas of life, even if it often did so by means of ruthless exploitation. For 20 years now, the tendency within world capitalism has been to become increasingly parasitic in its quest for profits. It has gone from productive investment to financial products, speculation, derivatives and gambling of all kinds, against a background of deregulation and privatisation which right-wing governments provided for it, inevitably giving rise to the financial crash. That is the reality of the situation.

How can working people in Europe put any faith in this system, and in the governments that supervise it, to secure their future? In recent times across Europe, tens of millions of working people and the poor have been mobilising massively against austerity. They seek an alternative to the dead end that is this market system.

A socialist economy is the alternative, where major institutions would be liberated from the hands of speculators and parasites. Those institutions would be put under democratic control, management and ownership, and then tasked with investing in productive areas of society and in the creation of crucial infrastructure and services, thereby putting millions of people to work. They would regenerate the broken economies of many European countries at the present time, thus instituting a system that provides a decent future for youth, as well as developing services for the sick and elderly. That is the only alternative to this disaster that is merely being carried on by the Bill currently before the House.

Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal breise a rá maidir leis an mBille um Shaoráid Iasachta an Limistéir Euro (Leasú) 2013. Baineann an reachtaíocht seo le tarrtháil an chaipitileachas Ghréagach atá curtha i bhfeidhm. Faraoir, tá an clár seo tubaisteach amach is amach do ghnáth-mhuintir na Gréige - lucht oibre na Gréige agus daoine óga na Gréige - atá ag fulaingt torthaí na déine go dian le ceithre nó cúig bliana anuas. Tá siad ag fulaingt ón tubaiste eacnamaíochta atá an polasaí déine tar éis cur i bhfeidhm, nuair a cuireadh i gcroí an pholasaí go dtarrtháilfear na bainc agus córas caipitileach na Gréige ar ghlúine gnáthmhuintir na tíre sin. Ní chuireann an Bille seo aon athrú bunúsach i bhfeidhm maidir leis an bpolasaí seo agus maidir leis an déine. I ndáiríre, níl i gceist sa reachtaíocht seo ach tréimhse aisíocaíochta na fiacha a dhéanamh níos faide agus athrú a dhéanamh ar an ráta úis. Cuirtear an t-am amach go dtí 2041, rud a chiallaíonn go mbeidh daoine atá fós le breith freagrach as an t-ualach seo a thagann ón géarchéim. Dá bhrí sin, ní athraíonn sé seo aon rud bunúsach maidir leis an tubaiste atá ar mhuintir na Gréige i láthair na huaire. Is de bharr sin go raibh an ceart ar fad ag Ceannaire an Pháirtí SYRIZA, an t-Uasal Tsipras, nuair a dúirt sé nach ceart na fiacha seo a íoc, gur ceart go gcuirfí ar ceal iad agus go gcaithfí deireadh a chur leis an bpolasaí déine atá ag déanamh creiche ar a mhuintir. Bhí an ceart ar fad aige.

Dá bhrí sin, ní dhéanann an Bille seo aon ní chun saol níos fearr dáiríre a chur i bhfeidhm do mhuintir na Gréige. Coinníonn sé ar aghaidh an polasaí céanna atá ag cur an oiread sin fulaingthe ar na gnáth daoine. Tá sé sin soiléir ón ráta dífhostaíochta mar shampla, atá anois, nach mór, 27%. Tá an dífhostaíocht i measc an óige tubaisteach, beagnach 57%, tá seirbhísí poiblí faoi bhrú agus á thógaint as a chéile, agus tá ioncam gnáth daoine creachta de bharr an pholasaí seo.

Tá lucht beag ghnó i gcruachás amach is amach.

Dá bhrí sin, in ionad Bille den tsórt seo, is é atá ag teastáil ná athraithe bunúsacha maidir leis an polasaí gur cheart a chur i bhfeidhm. Is é is ceart a tharlódh ná go dtiocfadh muintir na tíre, muintir na Gréige agus gnáth lucht oibre na Spáinne agus na Portaingéile le chéile agus go ndéarfaidís nach bhfuil siad toilteanach a thuilleadh fulaingthe nó a thuilleadh creacha a thógaint d'fhonn an córas caipitleach agus airgeadais agus na boic móra a shábháil, ach a mhalairt.

Ba chóir dóibh teacht le chéile chun malairt eacnamaíochta agus polaitíochta a chur chun cinn. Chiallódh sé sin go mbéadh na hinstitiúidí móra airgeadais agus comhlachtaí móra eile in úinéireacht phoiblí, faoi stiúrú phoiblí, faoi stiúrú dhaonlathach na ndaoine agus ag cur chun maitheasa an tsochaí. Bhéadh siad ag cur chun cinn straitéise chun infheistíochta, chun na milliúin a chur ar ais ag obair, chun infrastruchtúr riachtanach a fhorbairt agus a chur i bhfeidhm, chun seirbhísí poiblí a fhorbairt agus chun aire a thabhairt do dhaoine atá breoite, do sheandaoine agus a leithéid. D'fhéadfaí é sin a dhéanamh le malairt córais ina mbéadh an córas airgeadais ann ar mhaithe le tromlach na ndaoine seachas faoi dheachtóireacht mhionlaigh bhig agus faoi na boic móra, faoi comhlachtaí móra bainc agus a leithéid, nach bhfuil uathu ach brabús agus níos mó brabúis.

Dá bhrí sin, ní dhéanann an Bille tada. Táimidne ar an eite chlé ag cur ina aghaidh. Táimid chun vótáil ina aghaidh agus leanfaimid orainn ag troid ar son na malairte, is é sin, athrú in bpolasaí na déine, deireadh leis an déine agus leis na fiacha, agus polasaí sóisialach a chur ina áit chun eacnamaíocht na tíre agus na hEorpa a fhorbairt ar mhaithe le tromlach mhór mhuintir na hEorpa seachas an polasaí atá ag cur na milliúin i gcruachás, i bhfulaingt agus i dtruamhéileachas faoi mar atá i láthair na huaire.

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