Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The global picture for world capitalism is pretty bleak.

It is facing a new economic crisis. While its exact timing is difficult to predict, the indications are not good. The institutions of world capitalism, including the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank, all predict lower growth rates for the first time in close to a decade. Most of it is fuelled by fears of a global trade conflict between the USA and China, in particular, as part of a trend towards deglobalisation that is definitely present. There is also the recently highlighted danger of the bursting of the property bubble here and around the world which has been fuelled by cheap money and the financialisation of property. There is the question of Germany which was the engine of growth in the European Union but which is now close to a technical recession. There is also, of course, the rising prospect of a no-deal, chaotic Brexit which would have a particular impact on Ireland. We face these things in circumstances in which capitalism has exhausted some of its monetary reserves in the already very low interest rates and cheap money available. Martin Wolf says if it is hit by a new economic crisis, an equivalent reduction in interest rates means bringing them down for short-term loans to -2.5%. Capitalism has also exhausted a lot of its political reserves.

In the circumstances, it is correct to have a discussion about preparation. In some senses, the Minister recognises the dangerous situation and talks about preparing for it. He even notes the over-reliance on corporate tax receipts, which is a welcome observation on the reality. However, his prescription fails to recognise the severity of the problem facing us because it is trapped within the neoliberal mindset and the particular development model for Irish neoliberal capitalism from which the Minister is unwilling to break because of the party and class interests he represents. Fundamentally, what he is talking about in terms of preparation for a no-deal Brexit, the budget and so on is minimal change and ordinary people tightening their belts further. That is also the answer from Fianna Fáil, given the indications from Deputy Michael McGrath that in the event that there is a no-deal Brexit, people should not receive an extra €5 in social welfare and that somehow that will avoid the disaster. It is the model of development for capitalism in Ireland that is the problem. It involves reliance on foreign direct investment, a massively outsized financial sector which the Government is intent on blowing up even further in the context of Brexit based on Ireland's position as a corporate tax haven and a model of agriculture which is completely unsustainable economically and environmentally.

What is needed is a radical socialist plan to transform the economy. The key words which appear once but which are otherwise missing from the summer economic statement in which they should appear more often are "climate change". They appear once in a vague reference to global problems. Climate change is not something with which one deals one week as part of a climate action plan, whereas the next week it does not feature in a plan for the economy and the budget. That it is not present shows that the Government is not serious. If there was a left government today, what would have been announced was a green new deal with socialist policies. That is what Ireland needs to respond to the economic and environmental unsustainability of the current economic model. We must end Ireland's status as a tax haven, have massive public investment in renewable energy measures to make Ireland a leader in that field, escape from the current agriculture model by nationalising big agribusiness, provide supports and grants for small farmers to reduce the size of the herd substantially and create environmentally sustainable forms of agriculture, engage in afforestation, invest in free public transport for all, while expanding transport massively, and bring the key sectors of the economy into public ownership. That would allow us to plan the economy in the interests of meeting the people's needs and those of the planet, as opposed to relying on multinationals which can pull out at a moment's notice. These are the same multinationals which in many instances are responsible for the carbon emissions which are destroying our planet. That is the kind of plan we need.

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