Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While the overall debt figure for the State is 110% of GDP, lower than that for Greece at 177% of GDP, private and business debt is much higher and we must try to deal with it. I have flagged it for the Minister’s attention. The fact that we have taken on such a massive debt means that even when the economic figures are improving, we are being held back by the debt crisis. This is because of the debt and the European Union's refusal centrally to come to a more reasonable arrangement with countries such as Ireland and Greece. The European Central Bank has recognised that a large stimulus is required, if the European economy is to grow properly, recover and create jobs. While this is recognised across the political and ideological spectrum, it is not recognised by the European Union or the Government. As the motion points out, this flies in the face of the supposed objectives of the European Union and its talk about fostering social solidarity, respect and parity between nations. Where is the parity? The objectives of the European Unions founders have been lost. It is surely ironic that the two Government parties which are from the traditions that brought the European Union about seem to be backing away from them.

Although the Government claims we do not need a debt conference because we have fora such as ECOFIN, the Council of Ministers and the Eurogroup, it is not even on the agenda. In June 2012 the Government stated it had a game changer regarding retrospective capitalisation of the banks. Where is it?

The Government dropped it over Christmas while the media was on down-time. That is a huge a problem for this State and needs to be dealt with. Will the Government parties reconsider their opposition to a debt conference? There are countries which may not be the same as ours but they face similar problems and Greece is one. Surely there would be more strength in more than one player asking for the same thing. We should be uniting in common cause with those people. The Government should forget about being proud and everything else. We must get a deal and get relief for the Irish people and the citizens of Europe.

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