Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Does the Taoiseach realise how frustrated people have become from watching the endless merry-go-round of EU summits? They are littered with fine phrases about jobs, economic growth and returning to normal lending, but the reality experienced by people is one of deepening stagnation in the European and Irish economies and the persistence of the scourge of mass unemployment. The fact that 26 million people are unemployed across Europe, of whom 7 million are young people, is a stinging indictment of the failure of EU governments. It is a tragic waste of human resources and potential. The European Union has failed to make even the slightest dent on this most important of issues.

The policy of debt and deficit reduction through slashing incomes and public expenditure has failed. The policy of bailing out private banks at all costs has not led to renewed or normalised lending to SMEs or the economy in general. In Ireland the policy of putting €64 billion of our money into the banks has not led to any meaningful action on the crisis in mortgage arrears which is causing suffering and anxiety in 180,000 households and placing a suffocating dead weight on the economy. Unless we deal with this problem, there will be no chance of meaningful economic recovery. The Government and Europe's leaders are hopelessly addicted to failed policies and the neoliberal dogma that by cutting public spending and incomes, the markets will eventually come charging over the hill to rescue us. They are hostages to Europe's banks and multinationals. Either they do not realise this or they will not admit it.

We will not achieve growth or employment, unless we have investment. Since the height of the boom, investment in the State has dropped by 70% and it is not recovering, despite the Government's episodic announcements about this or that project. The overall level of investment has collapsed and unless we reverse that collapse, there will not be meaningful economic recovery. This pattern is becoming evident across Europe and spreading to its heart.

As parties in government who have long been committed to the European project, Fine Gael and the Labour Party should consider that their beloved Union is now threatened with break-up because of its failure to deal with these issues. It should be a major cause for concern to those committed to the European project that one country is considering pulling out. God knows, if there was a referendum in Britain, it is very likely the British people would pull out, particularly given the malaise that now exists in Europe.

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