Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This master of domination is stifling our economy. The promissory notes have become sovereign bonds. It is difficult to understand why people thought a change of name meant there would be an actual change. It is not as if the Minister for Finance produced a magic wand to turn the odious promissory notes into magical sovereign bonds. I am reminded of Juliet's question:

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet

Promissory bonds and sovereign bonds are the exact same. They are certainly not smelling as sweetly as roses do.

We know what we are talking about. We are talking about the billions euro that have been paid to date and the €25 billion that is outstanding. When the Central Bank sells that €25 billion worth of bonds, it will destroy the €25 billion it receives. Over the next 40 years, we will pay a total of €72 billion, when interest is included, to repay those billions which were originally used to bail out two insolvent banks. Apart from the injustice of this, it is ludicrous that we borrowed billions of euro in order to burn billions. Additional finances are necessary to deal with the health service, distressed mortgages, unemployment, emigration and housing problems. Some €15 million is being provided to local authorities to deal with housing voids. Dublin City Council could do with that full amount at the moment. I still do not think it would have enough money to cater for the housing needs in this city alone.

I am all for paying my just debts. I believe Ireland should pay its just debts. Ireland is paying for the incompetence and negligence of European institutions in relation to the euro. This is crippling the economy and inhibiting real growth. It is not our debt. Democracy suffered a blow yesterday in the form of the High Court judgment on Deputy Joan Collins's challenge. That judgment seemed to hinge on Article 17.2 of the Constitution, which requires that "no law shall be enacted, for the appropriation of revenue or other public moneys unless the purpose of the appropriation shall have been recommended to Dáil Éireann by a message from the Government signed by the Taoiseach". That is not my view of parliamentary democracy. It certainly makes a farce of everybody here and what we are doing here. It is something for the Convention on the Constitution to look at.

The motion before the House tonight is a tribute to democracy and the democratic will of the people, particularly as exercised by the members of the Ballyhea group. We have to acknowledge their perseverance and tenacity in doing the right thing by their country. They are not going to accept the damage that has been done. I would like to conclude by quoting Pope Francis's interesting comment that "as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems".

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