Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Words are important. Rhetoric is important. Considered words and thoughtful rhetoric are the stuff of ideas, discussion, debate argument, discovery and leadership. The institution that is this House is the rightful place for those of us who advocate ideas in the public space, argue differing philosophies, debate opinions and articulate public support for their validity but hollow words and empty rhetoric, dressed up as policy, with a thinly concealed pretence of validity, do not live up to that purpose. Instead, they mislead.

I received a number of e-mails this week from individuals who told me that by voting in favour of the motion before the House tonight I will be burning the Anglo debt. That is untrue. Telling me that by voting in favour of tonight's motion I will be unburdening the State from unnecessary bank debt is untrue, and that by voting in favour of this motion I will be waving a magic wand undoing all the reality of the previous five years and ushering in a new era is untrue also. Those who have said that to people outside this House are not taking seriously their obligation to genuine debate and truthful exchange.

I have lost count of the number of times slogans and empty rhetoric have been bombasted as the quick-fix solutions to all our country's very real ills. Populist, easy to chant slogans included "Austerity isn't working", "Default, default, default", "Bailout the worker" and so on. Those slogans are devoid of meaning and are not grounded in economics, finance or political reality.

Tonight's motion purports to put lobbying the European Central Bank at the heart of our economic strategy. If we saunter into the lobby of the ECB, have a coffee with Mario Draghi, and whisper lightly in his ear he might do us a favour. Never mind that lobbying in itself is illegal; doing what the motion suggests is also illegal. The irony of a motion before a law-making body arguing for law breaking should not be lost.

The greatest financial crisis this country has ever faced cannot be fixed by slogans. It could never be easy. It was always going to be difficult. Those of us on the Government side of the House have made difficult decisions, introduced difficult budgets and taken serious flack for political decisions we thought necessary. We put the country first, ahead of party and ahead of our own jobs. I am proud that we did that and that having lost 250,000 jobs, this country is now creating 1,200 jobs every week. I am proud that an economy that was choking and spluttering is back on its feet. I am proud that our country's reputation, which was in tatters, is now restored. I am glad that even though there is so much more to fix, the Irish people, who suffered so much, are once again confident that the future is not something to be feared but something that offers hope.

That record of achievement, albeit modest and fragile, was not the product of a cheap slogan, empty words, hollow rhetoric or fairy tale economics but the result of hard work, tough decisions and words of meaning and genuine purpose. We renegotiated the IMF deal. We reduced interest rates. We restructured repayments and got rid of the promissory notes but, more importantly, we placed jobs at the centre of our economic thinking and at the heart of every decision we made.

This remains an extremely difficult time for our people, and there is a long way to go, but as I walk down Shop Street or Eyre Square in Galway, look at the businesses and talk to the people on the street I can see that sense of hope starting to return. A recent survey I conducted of Galway businesses indicated that 70% of businesses have seen an improvement in their trading conditions in the past year, and 24% of businesses intend hiring within the next six months.

These are small beginnings, a return to normality and hope for people that they can return to work, earn a living and provide for themselves again. These results have been achieved through difficulty and perseverance, not by the political system but by those in our country who had to suffer the consequences of a massive international downturn and disgraceful politics which prevailed under the previous Government for over 14 years. It is not the time to risk that. It is not the time to put cheap motions and empty rhetoric at the heart of our economic policy. It is not right to betray people who suffered so much with easy and false hope. It is time to stick the course, which is the right way to proceed.

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