Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be echoing many of the sentiments expressed by the previous two speakers. It is stomach-churning to listen to the authorities in the United States of America and the Taoiseach refer to the sovereignty of states and talk about how borders should be respected. One does not need to be a genius to realise that this is hypocrisy of the highest order. The people who are preaching to us about what we should do are actually guilty of massive crimes. One can extend this argument to the North, into which warmongers such as Richard Haass have been brought to inform citizens about how not to kill people. What is happening is remarkable but I suppose it takes all sorts.

Russia could definitely learn something from the EU in the context of ignoring the sovereignty of countries. The EU is somewhat more subtle when it comes to taking over countries. It does not move in with tanks, for example, or with soldiers which it claims are not from within its borders but who actually are, as has possibly been the case in Crimea. The EU operates in the same way as heroin dealers, namely, the first fix is free and after that one will pay the price until the day one dies. The EU has been removing our sovereignty bit by bit. It got the first part for free and ever since farmers here have been obliged to dance the dance to meet the criteria for obtaining funding to which they have become used. If they disagree, they are basically threatened with starvation and with being run off their land. It is funny that our Government is so concerned about Ukraine's independence when it does not give the slightest damn about ours.

It might be stated that referenda are held here to decide whether Ireland should immerse itself further in the EU. The strange thing is that if we do not vote "Yes" in such referenda, those in government tell us we have to vote again. That is not democracy, rather it is a case of "We will keep asking the question until we get what we are looking for". The EU really outdid itself on the most recent occasion on which it proved necessary to hold a referendum here by deliberately naming the relevant instrument the "stability treaty". If anyone stated that they were opposed to the latter, those in government could say they were against stability. That is not democracy. The title "Vote against this treaty and we will shoot all your kids" might as well have applied in that instance. People could then have been told that they could not be opposed to the treaty because if they were, it would mean that they wanted the Government to shoot all of their children. The threat relating to the stability treaty was that if we did not vote in favour of it, we would not get retrospective recapitalisation in respect of our banks. We are still waiting for the latter to happen.

Jim Higgins, MEP, announced on a local radio station in my county in the past two weeks - he probably thought no one was listening - that retrospective recapitalisation is going to happen before the next general election. However, I am of the view that the game is up and that we are not going to get back any of the money involved. One of the reasons for this recalls to mind the story of the lad in the dance hall who never got to dance because he never asked anyone to dance. In the same vein, the Government never asked for retrospective recapitalisation. Even if it did ask for the latter, the EU would be right to refuse to provide it because the Government is obsessed with spinning the fact that we have turned the corner.

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