Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I express my deep appreciation to Deputy Catherine Murphy for bringing forward this motion. As others have said, it is appropriate that we deal with this issue. I am happy to be one of the 11 Technical Group members who signed and sent a letter of support to Syriza before the election wishing it well and supporting its call for a debt conference. I am also proud to have been among the thousands of people out on the streets of Dublin on Saturday, marching against austerity and expressing the desire to see austerity measures stopped in this country. I am also proud to support the 300,000 plus in Madrid who marched with Podemos and called for a change in European austerity measures.

Like other Deputies, I ask the Minister for Finance and to ask the Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, why there has been a dramatic change in their position on the new Greek Government's proposal for a European debt conference. When Syriza first proposed the idea of such a conference, both the Minister and the Tánaiste gave the proposal a guarded welcome. At least, they said it was an idea that could be looked at. Now, any such proposal is denounced as a demand for a debt write-off which cannot be countenanced under any circumstance. The Minister for Finance came out with a despicable statement that they still owed us €350 million. This is consistent with the "No" vote and the boycott by the Government of the UN committee on international debt in New York today. It is unbelievable that the Government voted "No" against holding this conference. Only 11 countries voted against the proposal, one of which was Ireland. All other heavily indebted European countries abstained in the vote. Ireland is boycotting the meeting. The Government has stated only "market mechanisms" can be used to resolve debt crises, which is why it will not engage with the UN committee. That is a shameful position to take. The Government is certainly not speaking for me, most Members on this side of the House or the Irish people in making that statement.

The Government's position seems strange, given that we could be major beneficiaries of any reorganisation of debt across the eurozone. The only conclusion one can draw is that if Syriza gets a deal along the lines it has proposed, this will be a huge political embarrassment for the Government. Avoiding any such embarrassment comes before a sensible suggestion which could get the eurozone out of the mess austerity has created. This strange sense of priorities is entirely consistent with the Government's new economic policy in the run-up to a general election, a policy which, as far as I am concerned, is based on three words - "Save our bacon".

A new policy is required for Europe, as the mad experiment with austerity has been a disaster. The social consequences have been well documented. We see them in the SILC figures which show that over 30% of the population are living in deprivation. In Greece the social consequences are horrific and the purchase of goods and services has fallen by 40% since 2008. The imposition of such poverty in a modern economy and EU member state is shameful and raises a moral question. Like the Irish bailout, the Greek bailout was a bailout not of the people but of EU banks, in particular German banks. Only 11% of the €230 billion was spent on Government services. In reality, the money went in one door and out the other. The social consequences of the austerity economic policy are not the only issue. As a solution to debt crisis, austerity has failed and no longer is it just those on the left who are saying this.

The Financial Timesis hardly a socialist newspaper, but it states: "To service its debt burden would require Greece to operate as a quasi-slave economy, running a primary surplus of 5% of GDP for years purely for the benefit of its foreign creditors. Even the IMF has dropped hints in favour of debt forgiveness". The report went on to ask: "What is the point of demanding money back merely to hasten the bankruptcy of the Greek state?" The majority of the ECB board now accept that austerity has not worked, which is the real reason behind its decision to launch a massive programme of quantitative easing. However, quantitative easing will not work either; just ask the Japanese Minister. Quantitative easing linked with continuing austerity will certainly not work, but it could work with a debt conference to discuss how the debt could be restructured.

At least, in Greece we have a government that is prepared to say "No" and demand a serious look at an alternative. This is not rocket science; it is a no brainer. I call on this Chamber to support the Greek Government and people.

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