Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I recognise that this is a very important decision made by the Government but I regret that it has been reduced to the level of political bravado, the fact that the Dáil has been called at such short notice and that there is no proper debate on this. The Taoiseach's speech was missing something, which means that neither I nor anybody else in this House can judge properly whether this is the right or wrong decision. What were the terms that were offered to the Government for this particular credit line? We met the troika as a group and it spelt out quite clearly that the terms were going to be very punitive indeed. If one takes this, which is, after all, just an overdraft, there is a heavy price to be paid initially for getting that overdraft. What was due to this House was not an announcement about how well the economy and Government were doing but the merits of the decision the Government has taken today. How much would this have cost? Would it have cost nothing? What was the interest rate? What was the length of repayments? What was the deal? We got no details of that so we cannot judge. The Dáil is being treated with a certain amount of contempt by being asked to support this in a vacuum when the Government is aware of the terms that were on offer.

It is not a historic day in terms of any great changes which are to happen in Government policy because a movement from the hands of the troika straight into the hands of the bond markets will mean that we are subject to exactly the same, if not greater, discipline than we were subject to before. The bond markets will require as much austerity as the Government has been imposing at the whim of the troika.

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