Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This legislation is not worthy of the support of the House. If there is one reason we should not support the Bill, it is the Minister of State's comment that it confers new obligations on Greek people. That is the crux of the issue. The interest holiday and reduction in the interest rate on the euro area loan are clearly positive developments but the key issue is that the changes in the legislation impose new obligations on the Greek people. These obligations will not and should not be met because they will further destroy the Greek economy and impoverish its people.

The agreement is symptomatic of Europe's approach to the debt crisis, which has been to do as little as possible and only then after it has been forced into a cul-de-sac. It was the potential for a Greek exit of the euro that gave rise to this agreement. Some tinkering at the edges has also been done in respect of Ireland's difficulties but it has always been the minimum required. Greece's debt must be fundamentally restructured, including by means of a substantial write-down, to enable it to return to some sort of normality.

With that normality, it can stop destroying its economy through cuts in public services and people's incomes and it can start to see growth and sustainable debt levels. Ireland needs the same restructuring of our banking debt, particularly in terms of the promissory note and the recoupment of the money provided to the pillar banks.

Unfortunately, this Bill is symptomatic of Europe's approach, namely, tinkering around the edges, doing as little as possible, sticking heads in the sand a little bit deeper and pretending that this facility will somehow resolve Greece's problems. In the same way, the outcome of the Eurogroup meeting has been flagged as the great white hope for Ireland. A dose of reality is required in both cases, yet this Bill does not provide it.

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