Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is important for us to indicate in our Parliament, in a way the people outside the gates are trying to do on the streets of the capital, that we stand in solidarity with the people of Greece, but what does this mean? For me, it simply refers to the right of the Greek people to elect a government of its choice and the right of that government to implement the policies it sees fit and on which it was elected. This may seem a textbook primary school answer to what democracy is - a free vote to choose one's leaders. What we have seen in the European Union in the past while is a confirmation of the warnings issued previously that this was not to be a union to benefit the peoples of Europe, to deliver equality and better living standards for all, but, in fact, one for the elites.

The carry-on of the Irish political establishment and most sections of the media in regard to the crisis in Greece is nothing short of scandalous. It represents a new low. The Taoiseach has basically said: "Take your medicine and you will get better," as if things are better for all people in this country. A hell of a lot of people would strongly disagree with this. The stance of the Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, was probably worse, seeing in the Greek problems almost a political opportunity to say to the people here, "It could be worse if you start. We know that you are not going to vote for the Labour Party, but if you start to vote for these lefties, you could be worse off." Is this what the Labour Party has come to, that the only thing for which it now stands is the defence of the status quoand that it cannot challenge austerity? That is a pitiful journey.

The programme that was foisted on the people of Greece as a result of the troika's so-called remedy has already resulted in and is the official cause of the disaster there. There is an unemployment rate of 60% in Greece; its GDP has dropped by 25%; some families are living off the pension of a grandparent and it has a suicide rate of 35%. Then Mr. John Bruton says to Syriza that it must accept its responsibility to provide for more austerity. It would be the height of irresponsibility - socially, economically and morally - if Greece was to travel further down this road. What it needs is a debt write-down and economic growth, but neither of these propositions were being delivered on the deal put before the Greek people.

It is important that we record that almost none of the enormous sums of money loaned to Greece has benefited the Greek people. The former chairman of the Bundesbank was honest about this in saying the Greek bailout was about protecting German and French banks in particular from debt write-downs. That is the name of the game.

Over the weekend, the waterboarding of Greece by the European Union and the troika that has been ongoing was stepped up a notch, as the eurogroup and the ECB reacted with horror to the idea that the Greek people might be given a choice and punished this so-called dangerous outbreak of democracy across European borders with a capping on Sunday night of the emergency liquidity assistance for Greece, helping to trigger the run on the banks for which they had obviously hoped. We do not have time to make the points we want to make. The real problem for the European Union is the fact that an alternative government might be bold enough to put forward an alternative in the interest of the people of Europe, rather than the elites, which might be a beacon for people in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. I salute the Greeks in their stance and wish them every success in the battle. What our political establishment has done has been disgusting beyond belief.

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