Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have dealt with the technicalities and we all accept that, on some level, the need for a safety measure such as the European Stability Mechanism in a crisis scenario and that there will always be a need for emergency credit. However, everyone in this Chamber and beyond will remember the period of austerity, when we dealt with the EFSF, the forerunner of the ESM, and we had the memorandum of understanding with the troika which was not especially understanding. The European Union recognises at this stage that austerity is a failed policy. However, this legislation fails to deal with the weaknesses that exist and that will remain until we get serious about the European Stability Mechanism.

I accept what has been said about the SRF and that there are certain protections for taxpayers and citizens in the event that banks need emergency lines of credit. That is to be welcomed but the fact is that we are still failing miserably. There has been much talk about debt-to-GDP ratios in that it is a system that will not work when a line of credit is needed. We are talking about the PCCL and the ECCL. I am sure we could add 14 more acronyms and we would all be better off for it.

The fact is this is part of the status quoas regards fiscal constraints. We all accept that there is no magic money tree and we all have to operate within fiscal rules. However, we must look at the situation in which we have found ourselves during the pandemic. During that period, the European Union and other entities were able to suspend rules. They were able to do things and change rules that people in this State and this Chamber had said there was no chance of changing. They were changed because it was absolutely necessary to do so.

We are not where we would like it to be as regards the pandemic. We have not moved beyond it and we are still dealing with day-to-day difficulties. Beyond that, and in the context of COP26, it is fair to say there are many other crises, of which climate change is a huge one. There is a lot of talk about the European Green Deal, European green bonds and just transition. We need to change the fiscal constraints and fiscal rules to allow for what needs to be done. The big step up across Europe is the fact that, as has been the case in the pandemic, states are going to have to do the heavy lifting. It is not enough to impose carbon tax and pressure on individuals. We will need to change the fiscal constraints. We will have to give ourselves the ability to do what is necessary and take the required actions. We are about to enter into what can only be compared to a wartime situation. We need to deliver because we are running out of time. We do not have the constraints in this particular situation or in the situations we are going to enter.

See this speech in context