Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The candidate's name is Mr. Keogh. In the general election he secures a seat in Parliament. He may be a member of the Government but for 12 months he represents the new party based on its unanimously agreed principles and policies and everything works fine. Ireland, with its 4.5 million people, is then visited by a pandemic that makes Ebola look simple. This is possible. The World Health Organization and all other governments nearby that are concerned that the global population could suffer come together and decide on the best form of management and principles to deal with the pandemic which are totally at odds with the policy unanimously decided by the new party. Mr. Keogh now has to use his conscience to do what is right as a representative of the whole people. Everything moves up a step because as parliamentarians we represent the whole people. Mr. Keogh must not be bound by the orders, instructions and mandates decided on unanimously 12 months previously so as not to endanger the people of Ireland. In this situation he will be able to rely on what is provided for by this proposal if is inserted into the Constitution. That is the reason Germany has included it in its basic law and it works. It also works in Lithuania. Ten days ago in Paris I spoke about this to Egidijus Vareikis of Seimas, the Lithuanian Parliament, and he agreed with me that this was needed in written constitutions. It is not needed in the United States where there are free votes on everything. It is also not needed in Britain because it does not have a written constitution. Unfortunately, we do need it here.

Let us look at the evidence of what has happened here in the past while. In my experience, our problems started with the recapitalisation of the banks under the troika programme. At the time more than €16 billion was taken from the National Pension Reserve Fund and put into the banks. This was done on the basis of an instruction from the Government parties that had the largest ever majority in the State. Was this good for the people? The answer is no. I sent a text message to the Taoiseach at the time asking that he pause and not proceed and suggesting there were other ways to recapitalise the banks, including by way of creditor capitalisation or through the European Union which should have recapitalised them by writing off ELA.

Let us move forward to February 2013 and the introduction of so-called emergency legislation to liquidate IBRC and, more sinisterly, turn flimsy promissory notes, IOUs, into solemn national debt of €30 billion. With 20 minutes notice we were asked to come pass emergency legislation. However, there was no emergency. How do I know this? I know it because this is the area in which I work. Just like a doctor who knows what an emergency is in health, I know from my work what an emergency is in this area. It was propaganda, which is not nice, as it is misleading and what everybody else calls "spin". I call it "propaganda" because that is what it is. I do not like say it, but it is dishonest. I love my country and my colleagues in this House, but I do not like the avoidance of the truth or a failure to recognise and measure situations properly and honestly, as we serve the people. I am deeply dissatisfied at the level of inequality in the country. This is only happening because the Government has a large majority and is failing to allow backbenchers to express their views. I know this because I was one of them at one time. I note that there are only two Government Members in the House, both of whom will recall that I said when I was a member of the parliamentary party that there should have been levies imposed on corporates that were making profits, while citizens' incomes were disappearing or being reduced. The unfairness of it is blatant. I also say this to the chief executives of the companies to which I speak, who are my peers in terms of age and business experience in the markets and finance sector. There is nothing to be afraid of. While individual Government Members have told me that they support this proposal, they are afraid to say so.

The aforementioned legislation was sinister and unnecessary and I did not vote on it. The Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, will recall that I was paired for that vote following constant badgering of the Taoiseach by text message because I was not going to be a party to that legislation.

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