Dáil debates

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

European Council Meeting: Statements

 

6:15 pm

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Over the last few days, all eyes have been on Greece. Therefore, before I turn to the agenda of the upcoming European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, I want to report on the special euro summit which I attended in Brussels yesterday evening.

As the House is well aware, as time has passed, the sense of crisis surrounding the financial position of Greece has escalated. More importantly, the very real strains on the Greek people have only been intensified by the ongoing uncertainty and instability and their knock-on effects on economic activity. I am glad to say that, after much too long a stalemate, there now appears to be a reasonable prospect of an agreement between Greece and its creditors over the next few days. The Greek Government has forwarded new proposals, which are, as I speak, being intensively analysed by the institutions - namely, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the IMF and the Eurogroup - and being discussed with Greek Ministers and experts.

These proposals arrived too late for a detailed discussion among finance Ministers at the Eurogroup meeting yesterday afternoon. The euro summit was never intended to be a discussion of technical issues in any case. However, first reactions from the institutions were generally to the effect that there has been an important step forward and there is a real basis on which to work. This very much set the mood at the euro summit, which gave the Greek Prime Minister the chance to set out his approach directly to all of the partners involved, and allowed him to appreciate the sense of purpose and determination among his colleagues. For my part, I stressed the importance of developing trust and implementing policies which can credibly meet the scale of the challenges that arise. I outlined our own experiences in Ireland, including our experience of modifying aspects of our programme which we sought to replace with others to achieve the same objective, but which were pro-growth in nature.

The Eurogroup is now scheduled to meet again tomorrow evening with a view to reaching agreement by Thursday morning, just before the European Council meeting begins. I hope that at the European Council we will be in a position to salute an important breakthrough, even if much work remains to be done with Greece on longer-term issues. Success will be important for the stability of the euro area and of Greece itself and will offer the people of Greece some sense of a return of hope and the prospect of a stable recovery.

I will now address the very full and diverse agenda of the European Council taking place this Thursday and Friday. The Council will continue to work to shape, on the basis of solidarity and responsibility, a comprehensive EU approach to migration, recognising that the situation in the Mediterranean is now at crisis point. We will continue our efforts to boost jobs, growth and competitiveness in the Union, giving strong political backing for the roll-out of a new digital single market strategy. We will consider how the union can best respond to existing and emerging challenges in both its internal and external security environment. For the first time at the European Council, British Prime Minister David Cameron will outline his thinking on EU reform and the UK referendum on EU membership. I have asked the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Simon Harris, to address security and defence issues in his wrap-up statement. I will now address the other issues on the agenda.

Migration looks likely to take up more time than any other issue on the agenda. Instability, conflict and poverty across north Africa and the Middle East have resulted in unprecedented numbers of migrants attempting to enter Europe by sea. It is now estimated that well over 100,000 have made the perilous crossing across the Mediterranean so far this year. Although the EU has for some years now been taking important steps to address the crisis, the large-scale loss of life in April this year made it clear that we needed to do more, and urgently. I understand there may have been in excess of a million people on the Libyan shores over the past period.

An emergency meeting of the European Council, which I attended in April, identified four areas that required progress to tackle the crisis: fighting traffickers, strengthening our presence at sea, preventing illegal migration flows, and reinforcing internal solidarity and responsibility. The European Agenda on Migration, published by the Commission on 13 May, also provides an important framework for the future. Tackling the migration crisis requires a comprehensive approach. Our ultimate goal must be to have a stable neighbourhood that provides a secure future and genuine opportunities for its people. This requires us to work closely with those countries from which migrants originate, addressing the factors that drive people to risk their lives on the perilous Mediterranean crossing. While recognising the importance of a longer-term approach in addressing migration flows, however, we cannot ignore the reality of today's immediate crisis. We must be ready to demonstrate solidarity with our southern EU partners who are at the front line. In this regard, I expect the European Council to focus on two aspects: supporting those in need of international protection through resettlement and relocation schemes, and ensuring effective return policies for those irregular migrants who do not qualify for international protection. Tackling the organised criminal networks that profit from human smuggling is also a priority, as is evident from the decision yesterday by EU foreign Ministers to launch an EU mission which will work to disrupt these networks.

At the European Council, I intend to underscore Ireland's readiness to stand shoulder to shoulder with other EU member states in tackling the crisis. The LE Eithnehas already rescued more than 2,100 migrants since it arrived in the southern Mediterranean on 23 May in support of the Italian authorities. In addition, the Government has agreed to resettle a total of 520 refugees in Ireland in 2015 and 2016, 300 more than originally foreseen and nearly double the figure proposed for us in the Commission's European Agenda on Migration.Through our aid programme, Ireland has provided €41 million in humanitarian assistance to people affected by the conflict in Syria. A large proportion of those arriving on Europe's shores have been forced to flee by this brutal conflict.

The Commission has proposed that, as an emergency measure and to demonstrate solidarity, 40,000 migrants in need of protection who are already in Greece or Italy be reallocated to other EU member states. Discussions so far have shown that opinions are divided on the specifics of this proposal. Some are very supportive; others, while mindful of the need to show solidarity, are afraid that it could establish a precedent which would act as a further pull factor encouraging migratory flows. There is agreement that further action is required, and I am hopeful that a compromise can be reached. Under Protocol 21 to the Lisbon treaty, Ireland can choose whether or not to opt into this measure. That is why the Commission has not allocated Ireland a relocation quota, as it has done with other member states. We have yet to make a final decision on whether we will participate in such a scheme, and are continuing to examine the proposals very carefully as they evolve.

A further focus of this week's European Council will be on creating jobs, boosting growth and improving competitiveness. The growth outlook for the euro area is currently reasonably encouraging. Lower oil prices, appropriate monetary policies and a renewed focus on investment are expected to further boost economic activity through 2015 and into 2016. Member states must, however, continue their efforts, through appropriate fiscal policies and structural reforms, to ensure that recovery is sustainable. In this regard, the European Council will endorse this year's country-specific recommendations to the member states, thus concluding the European semester 2015. The House will recall that there are four country-specific recommendations for Ireland, which reflect continuity with last year's process and align well with policy directions that are already firmly established at national level. They cover public finances, health care spending, jobless households and child care, and restructuring of non-performing loans.

There is a general sense that the overall semester process has worked well this year, with better dialogue between the Commission and member states. Significantly for Ireland and for the Union, the European Council will also agree next steps on the digital single market, building from the excellent strategy presented by the Commission last May. I have taken the initiative in proposing to a number of colleagues that we write to the President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, this week, pressing for the highest levels of ambition for a fully functioning digital single market that is both open and competitive. My counterparts in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic have co-signed the letter, and I have no doubt that others will agree with much or all of it.

We believe there is no greater opportunity at our disposal to make a real difference for investment, growth and jobs in Europe, while delivering a vital boost to the Union's future global competitiveness. We have to make sure our shared market rules are keeping pace with the full extent of what is now possible for digital innovation and entrepreneurship, while unlocking a new wave of European investment in next-generation broadband services, connecting all parts of the Union, no matter how remote, including with the support of the new European Fund for Strategic Investments. If we get it right, I am absolutely confident that the digital single market can underpin a stronger economic outlook for Europe and for all member states. That is why I am pushing for the European Council to provide a strong political endorsement for the new strategy at this week's meeting: concrete measures, ambitious timelines and early results.

The European Council is also likely to note the report entitled Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union, which was published yesterday by the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in co-operation with the heads of the other institutions. Building on measures implemented in recent years to make the economic and monetary union more stable and resilient, the report proposes a two-phase approach to further reform: a first, short-term phase focused on boosting competitiveness, maintaining responsible fiscal policies and completing fiscal union, followed by a second, longer-term phase which would involve changes to the EU's economic and institutional architecture. Much of the detail of what is envisaged would require much further work. It is important to note that this report reflects the personal views of the five Presidents and will, of course, need to be studied carefully and debated in full by member states over the period ahead. I do not expect a detailed debate at this European Council.

Finally, I want to turn to the question of the UK's relationship with the EU, which the European Council is also set to address later this week. Let me begin by restating that this is an issue of real national importance. British membership of the Union matters hugely to Ireland. I think all of us in this House, regardless of our party affiliations or political convictions, understand why that is the case. I very much welcome the publication today of the comprehensive report by the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on the UK-EU relationship. This confirms that the relationship is important for our economic ties, for Northern Ireland and for the promotion of Irish interests in the Union. Therefore, keeping the UK within the EU is, in the Government's view, essential, both for Ireland and for the EU as a whole.

I met with the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in Downing Street last week. We had a very constructive and positive discussion about his plans for reform and renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU. I made it clear to him how much value we attach to the fact that both our countries are members of the Union. I said that, without necessarily agreeing on all points, Ireland would be as helpful in negotiations as we could be. I also welcomed the fact that he is talking to all of our European Council colleagues in advance of this week's meeting. I believe the Prime Minister fully recognises many of the benefits for the UK of the EU and of EU membership, and I know for sure that he appreciates its importance in the context of the British-Irish relationship. However, he also has a number of concerns, and he has been very clear that he wants these addressed before a referendum is held in the UK on whether his country should remain in the EU.

This week's European Council, which will be the first since the British election in May, will present an opportunity for the Prime Minister to outline his thinking. The purpose is not to have a lengthy debate but to allow him to sketch out the areas he wants to address in terms of reform. Issues already mentioned publicly and raised by the Prime Minister with me last week include the following: competitiveness; questions of sovereignty, including the application of the concept of ever-closer union and the role of national parliaments in the EU legislative process; the relationship between those member states within and outside the euro area; and the relationship between migratory flows within the EU and welfare entitlements. I expect that the European Council will launch a process of further exploration of the various options and possibilities in each area. The indications are that the first phase will be quite low-key and technical before firmer proposals come back to the European Council in due course.

There are likely to be elements of the UK's proposals on which Ireland and, indeed, other member states can be fully supportive, such as in regard to improving the Union's competitiveness through trade, the digital single market, which I mentioned earlier, and better regulation. There are others which, though complex, may allow for balanced outcomes which meet UK concerns without damaging the interests of the rest of the Union. On the difficult question of welfare reform, much has to be done to clarify what is feasible and achievable both technically and politically.

Like every other Head of State or Government, I will be mindful of the consequences of any changes for our own citizens and for the EU's core values. I want to underline that Ireland is eager to see the question of the UK's future in the Union resolved, and resolved positively. While the exact timing of a referendum is for the British Government to determine in due course, I hope the uncertainty over Britain's place in Europe can be dispelled sooner rather than later. This week's European Council essentially represents the start of the process. The challenge ahead is arriving at a negotiated and consensual basis that will allow for continued UK membership of the EU. I am hopeful that a solution that is satisfactory to all parties - the UK Government, the British people and other EU member states - will be reached. Let me assure the House that Ireland will be playing a very active and constructive role in the negotiations that lie ahead.

6:25 pm

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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From his earliest days in office, the Taoiseach has consistently refused to be open about fundamental policy issues. The public and media get the spin, but the reality is hidden away, often shielded by the aggressive withholding of documents and the reduction of parliamentary questions to a farce. This is true through nearly every part of Government, but it is especially true of the Government’s approach to vital European discussions. For months, the Government has been claiming publicly that it wants a generous and fair settlement of Greece’s debt problems. However, yesterday, behind closed doors, our Government took a leading role in threatening to effectively cause the collapse of the Greek banking sector unless Greece immediately toed the line.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Not true.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This was a position so extreme that even the ECB rejected it.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is not true.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As reported extensively yesterday and again this morning, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, argued strongly and repeatedly that Greece should be forced to introduce capital controls before the ongoing liquidity support provided for Greek banks could be continued.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Not true.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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By every analysis, capital controls have been identified as a first formal step towards a Greek exit from the eurozone and a signal of a dramatic escalation of the crisis. In this, the Minister was the principal supporter of Mr. Schäuble, the German Minister for Finance.  Mr. Schäuble’s position is a clear one, and it is more extreme than that of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.  He is against concessions to Greece and indifferent towards its place in the euro, and he is one of those who took a damaging position towards Ireland’s interests in the past. That our Government would side with him against Greece is a disgrace. At the very moment that the Greek Government was finally tabling significant measures to bridge the gap with international lenders, our Government decided to support a ratcheting up of the crisis. What is even worse is that our Government sided with a small minority of hardline states whose position was decisively rejected by the meeting.

The ECB is no soft touch in the Greek negotiations.  It has an extremely poor and at times disastrous policy record relating to individual support programmes for countries. Yet even the ECB rejected the extreme position which the Minister, Deputy Noonan, took on behalf of Ireland yesterday. Obviously the Taoiseach has been very grateful to the Chancellor for helping him during our last election, and he has refused to ever challenge the German Government’s policies, but this marks a move to a far more craven and unacceptable phase. No doubt the Minister will come up with some homespun way of trying to claim that he was actually doing the opposite of what the record shows. This is an act which is no longer fooling anyone but the most gullible. The Taoiseach has a duty to explain the Minister's behaviour yesterday and to explain why, at such a sensitive moment, his Government supported an escalation of the crisis at the very time when a breakthrough had become possible.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is not true. I have told the Deputy this four times.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I and my party have been very consistent over the past four years in saying that Greece needs some further debt relief if it is to have a credible route back to long-term growth.  This remains the case.  The debt restructuring that was carried out up to now has been enough to kick the can down the road but not enough to deal with the problem. The effort of the Greek Government to secure a reduction in the impact of its debts is reasonable and it is one we should be supporting, rather than joining the hardline effort to say "No" to everything.

Certainly, it is the case that the new Government in Athens has been unreliable and damaging in the tactics it has used.

Regularly abusing those one is negotiating with, denouncing them as criminals and failing to engage in detailed discussions are not behaviours which serve anyone’s interests.

Syriza has a democratic mandate to seek to reduce the debt and austerity. This mandate, however, also includes the contradictory promise to abide by the rules of membership of the eurozone, and it does not remove the right of other countries and international institutions to disagree. "Shut up and give us your money" is a negotiating tactic which has proven disastrous so far. What is also not reasonable is the effort of the Syriza Government to reject any reforms at all or to give any commitments in return for billions in other people’s money.

The indication now is that it has finally tabled a serious proposal. This has survived the Schäuble-Noonan effort yesterday which could have effectively torpedoed it before any real discussions. At the summit on Thursday and Friday Ireland has a duty to stand on the side of giving Greece a chance. Now that there is a real engagement and an effort to provide credible commitments in return for the release of €7 billion in funding, Ireland should speak up in favour of doing whatever is possible to get a deal finalised. The Taoiseach must end the policy of sucking-up to the hardline elements in Chancellor Merkel’s party.  It has delivered nothing for Ireland and nothing for Europe.

The Taoiseach should be an advocate for sustainable debt relief for Greece. Unfortunately, there appears to be zero likelihood of this happening. Quite simply, the Taoiseach has refused to advocate reasonable debt relief for Ireland, so he will clearly not do anything to help another country. In a four and a half year record of unprecedented spin and misdirection, this Government’s actions relating to Europe stand out. Next week we will reach the third anniversary of the day that the Taoiseach emerged from a summit in Brussels covering himself in praise for having, he claimed, secured a game-changer concerning bank-related debt.

6:35 pm

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Throw away the script.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach would love me to throw it away. He would love me to throw away the memories of that false declaration-----

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The previous Government threw away our sovereignty.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We broke the link between sovereign and bank debt.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach broke no link. He did nothing, but claimed something that did not happen. He and his Ministers claimed that billions were potentially on the way. At a press conference dominated by the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Howlin, during which they giggled about how they had just brought home the goose which would be laying golden eggs, it was speculated that Ireland might get over €30 billion in debt relief. Some three years later, we have got nothing. However, this is not the worst of it. The facts show that our Government has not asked for debt relief and has not even mentioned the topic for the past two years.

Over a lengthy period Fianna Fáil has been working to find evidence of what the Government has done in terms of the Taoiseach’s claimed game changer on debt relief. As usual, no information has been provided via parliamentary questions, so we have had to submit a range of freedom of information requests. It was revealed yesterday by thejournal.iethat under this Government the Department of the Taoiseach has dramatically reduced the amount of information it is willing to release under freedom of information. In spite of this, we have been able to put together the basic picture.

Government papers reveal that a deadline of October 2012 was originally set for achieving debt relief. The last time the Taoiseach made direct contact with a European leader about debt was in October 2013, when he contacted the then Council President, Herman Van Rompuy. Since then there has been silence and yet the evidence of the justice of Ireland’s case for Europe to share the cost of bank recapitalisation has actually grown stronger. European institutions and member states insisted on a course of action which limited Ireland’s options and increased its cost, about that there is no doubt.

It is something the Taoiseach has acknowledged, albeit only once in an unscripted comment made in Paris in October 2012. Since then he simply will not say out loud that others should share in the cost of policies which were imposed on Ireland. The only possible explanation for this is that it might get in the way of the party political narrative that Fine Gael wants to keep intact for electoral purposes. The obsession of Fine Gael with the next election can be seen in the newspapers every day and in the Government’s cowardice when it comes to challenging powerful people. That it appears to have stopped it even publicly stating Ireland’s case for justice on its debts is something which is becoming clearer all the time.

The Greek situation will dominate the summit, but the discussion on the long-term governance of the eurozone is just as important. The eurozone is badly flawed, and no one can seriously question that, but the proposals currently under discussion do nothing whatsoever to address the most important flaws. The lack of any ability to transfer resources from stronger regions to regions under pressure is a unique feature of the European single currency. There is no means of addressing embedded structural imbalances. The large balance of payments surpluses in certain countries are to be left in place. They will not be requested to do something about it.

Europe desperately needs a form of fiscal compact which is about helping, not just controlling, each other. The approach is too one-dimensional and yet the Taoiseach is enthusiastically supporting a set of recommendations this week which double down on a policy which states structural changes alone are the route to growth. What is extraordinary about this is that at home the Government has a perfect record of ignoring the advice of the Fiscal Advisory Council. It has undertaken no significant structural reforms and has bet on mass amnesia enabling people to forget that Fine Gael and the Labour Party voted against the majority of budget changes for which they now try to claim credit.

This Government’s European policy is incoherent and serves no obvious Irish or European long-term interest. Another example of this is the Government’s policy towards the Tory Party’s demand for a renegotiation of Britain’s membership of the European Union. The Taoiseach has spoken at length about it, but has managed to say nothing. He has held two meetings with Prime Minister Cameron, but we have no idea what he might have said in these meetings other than the most banal generalities, and we heard more of that in his speech. Of course Ireland wants Britain to remain in the European Union, but we should not want this at any cost.

Britain’s review of the balance of competencies within the Union showed that the bulk of European powers help individual states to compete on a level playing field and give them fair access to trade. Just as important, it allows guarantees of basic working conditions and social supports. Under no circumstances should Ireland support any proposal to turn the European Union away from these progressive policies which have helped Irish citizens more than most. It also appears that key parts of the UK do not share the obsessive euroscepticism of the Tories in England and the DUP and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. The position of the main parties in Scotland and Wales are very much in line with what should be our position.

At a minimum we deserve some honesty and openness from our Government. What is Britain seeking and what does our Government support in terms of future changes? On balance, Ireland should always be open to participating in trade agreements which open up new markets for companies based here. While the macro elements of TTIP look positive for Europe and Ireland, we need to see more detail. However, because of recent developments in the USA on the US-Pacific deal it is doubtful that anything will happen on TTIP until after the presidential election.

Everybody in the House should acknowledge the work being done by the crew of theLE Eithneto prevent further loss of life and tragedy in the Mediterranean. It is bringing into a new era the proud record of Óglaigh na hÉireann, especially in international humanitarian work. Its dedication should be commended. There are no simple answers to the current refugee crisis. However, it is obvious that a much more ambitious and generous approach to supporting human rights and growth in certain countries is needed.

The Syrian refugee crisis continues to get worse. It is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world at the moment and Ireland should lead the calls for a response which is capable of helping millions of people who have already endured too much.

I welcome the decision to extend sanctions on Russia for its invasion, partition and continued destabilisation of Ukraine. I continue to find it amazing how parties which lecture us constantly on freedom and sovereignty continue to pander to the increasingly authoritarian Putin administration. Sinn Féin’s vote against a European Parliament motion supporting Ukraine has been ignored in the Irish media, but deserves closer attention. I find it extraordinary the degree to which the Irish media has not commented on that vote, when essentially Sinn Féin and others sided with the Russian position and against the Ukraine Government.

The free and democratically elected Government of Ukraine is showing a real commitment to reform, including launching the first credible anti-corruption drive in that country. Debt relief and a credible programme of support are what it now desperately needs. Overall, there needs to be the clear enunciation of the principles of the correct approach to the crisis facing Ukraine, as well as a principled approach to the unacceptable behaviour of Russia in partitioning that country and undermining its efforts to emerge as a stable society and economy.

6:45 pm

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Gerry Adams, who is sharing time with Deputy Peadar Tóibín. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The eyes of many in Europe and further afield, as the Taoiseach said, are now on the economic crisis which has been affecting the people of Greece. Both the people of Greece and those of this State have had unfair tax burdens imposed upon them. However, the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, including the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, have consistently taken the side of the EU elite and the ECB against the people and government of Greece. We have seen media reports today, which the Taoiseach denied earlier, of the Minister for Finance’s posturing ahead of the euro summit and heard that he was one of the toughest contributors in talks on the EU's response to the Greek crisis. The Minister reportedly ganged up with the German leaders to argue that the ECB governing council could not keep meeting every day to approve emergency loans to Greece. Effectively, it is claimed that he called for controls on Greek banks but ECB officials told both him and the German finance Minister to stay away from monetary policy. The Taoiseach will remember how the Minister joked once about Greece and feta cheese. There has been little evidence of solidarity or understanding in the attitude of the Government, and of the EU, towards the Greek Government.

The current crisis is not in the interests of the people of Greece or of other EU states. The Government of Greece does not want the country to leave the eurozone, and the Irish Government must argue against any EU effort to force Greece out. Yet, time and again regarding Greece, as with this State, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance have not acted as representatives of the people of Ireland but as representatives of the EU elite in Ireland. What is now needed is firm support and solidarity for Greece from eurozone states, especially from this State.

The Greek Government is seeking a fair compromise which does not unduly target the poor and the most vulnerable Greek citizens. Greece is prepared for and has already agreed to a great deal of adjustment. However, it rightly argues that this adjustment must not be of the kind that previously crippled its country. Greece needs more reform, as do other highly indebted eurozone countries, not more cutbacks or destruction of public services and the economy.

As the Greek finance Minister pointed out in The Irish Timesat the weekend, wages in Greece have contracted by 37%, pensions by up to 48%, state employment by 30%, and consumer spending by 33%. He pointed out that Greece’s adjustment was so drastic that economic activity was choked: total income fell by 27%, unemployment skyrocketed to 27%, undeclared labour rose to 34% and public debt to 180% of Greece’s declining gross domestic product, GDP. The awfulness of emigration, with which we are familiar, has been visited upon thousands of young Greek citizens.

In the face of these realities, it makes no sense for creditors and other eurozone states to demand further cutbacks that will deepen the humanitarian crisis in Greece and push its poorest citizens into even greater poverty. The Greek Government is committed to serious reforms, especially to fight tax evasion and corruption. None the less, Greece’s creditors continually call for cuts to pensions, despite the Greek Government's statement that around 1 million families survive on pensions which have already been cut by up 48% and that further cuts to their meagre pensions would amount to putting them onto the streets.

Why does the Taoiseach not support proposals that would reform Greek’s economy to tackle its humanitarian crisis? Why does he continue to back the types of austerity measure which have failed citizens of EU states and increased inequality and destitution in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal? Will he support Greece’s calls for a reduction in its unsustainable and unfair debt? Will he make common cause with Greece with a view to reducing this State's unsustainable debt also? That is what citizens in this State want from the Government. Indeed, that was the platform on which he won the 2011 general election.

In the course of Thursday’s Europe Council meeting, will the Taoiseach raise the case of Ibrahim Halawa, in light of the fact that his treatment in Egypt is in breach of international human rights obligations, including Article 2 of its Euro-Mediterranean Partnership agreement? I have raised this issue with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions. Mr. Halawa was only 17 when he was arrested and has been in prison for two years. He should now be in college or working, not caged in an Egyptian jail. His family are extremely concerned for his mental and physical health. His trial was postponed for the seventh time earlier this month, a mass trial involving 493 defendants. I have written directly to the Egyptian President calling on him to intervene on humanitarian grounds, not least because Ibrahim Halawa was a juvenile at the time of his arrest. I know the Taoiseach has stated his reasons for not directly intervening at this time with the Egyptian authorities. Article 2 of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership agreement states: "Relations between the Parties [to the agreement] ... shall be based on respect of democratic principles and fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement." Without intervening directly in the Egyptian judicial system, this article provides the Taoiseach with an opportunity to raise this matter at the European Council.

I commend the crew of the LE Eithnein rescuing more than 2,100 migrants in the Mediterranean over the past month. Will the Taoiseach urge the Council to tackle the crisis in north Africa and the Middle East as a humanitarian crisis? It needs to be tackled more urgently than we have seen thus far.

Will the Taoiseach take leadership at EU level on the Palestinian cause and to be a champion for peace in the Middle East? He is mandated to do so by the Dáil. We have our own history, respect and goodwill on matters in that region.

Will he provide an opportunity to discuss the report entitled Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union? Sinn Féin envisages a social European Union, a Union of equals as opposed to the neoliberal and two-tier model that has emerged.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Aontaím le tuairimí agus le ráiteas mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Adams. Impím ar an Rialtas seasamh le muintir na Gréige agus iad sa ghéarchéim ina bhfuil siad. Tá muintir na hÉireann ag féachaint ar an Rialtas seo agus ag féachaint ar Syriza agus éad uafásach orthu faoin obair iontach atá á dhéanamh ag Rialtas na Gréige i gcomparáid leis an easpa oibre atá á dhéanamh ag an Rialtas seo ó thaobh fiacha sna tíortha de.

Migrants fleeing war, hunger, poverty and oppression continue to attempt the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean in unsafe boats. Sinn Féin welcomes that the Government has sent the LE Eithneto be part of search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean. Just yesterday the LE Eithnesuccessfully located and rescued a total of 519 migrants off three separate vessels 50 nautical miles north-west of Tripoli. Since the LE Eithneset sail from Ireland on 16 May, it has rescued more than 2,000 migrants who have been in trouble in the Mediterranean. Gabhann Sinn Féin míle buíochas le criú na loinge sin - na fir agus na mná atá ag obair sa tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh. Is creidiúint don tír iad na hoibrithe sin. This also puts into perspective the huge need for continued search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 90,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean this year and almost 2,000 have drowned or been lost at sea. Approximately 200,000 migrants are expected to make the crossing this summer during calm seas. Ireland must be central to the lifesaving actions to ensure no mass drownings occur again. This should be focused on saving migrants' lives and not military offensive strikes.

I have huge concerns about the EUNAVFOR mission and fear it will only make the situation more dangerous and volatile for people fleeing war, poverty, hunger and oppression. The Irish Government should not play any part in militarily forcing vulnerable people and refugees back to Libya and other areas of conflict. Will the Taoiseach confirm that the Government will ensure that the LE Eithne'smission will remain one of search and rescue, and that Ireland will take no part in any offensive action as part of the recently agreed EUNAVFOR mission?

6:55 pm

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Will he make clear that migration will be discussed at the European Council meeting?

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes, it will be. The mission will be the same as it was when it commenced.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday officially launched EUNAVFOR Med. The language the EU is now using is about ship "disposal" rather than "destroying" ships. However EUNAVFOR Med is still without UN or Libyan approval. Many believe that when it comes to destroying smugglers' boats the smugglers will simply put migrants on them, even when they are at anchor, to act as human shields. Even the UN-recognised authorities based in the eastern part of the country, do not have control of coastal areas where most migrant embarkations take place. This mission is extremely dangerous and could result in the deaths of hundreds or even thousands of innocent civilians. The record of EU and NATO countries in Libya already speaks for itself. They successfully removed Gadaffi but left behind a country bitterly divided and in ruins, a living hell for the average Libyan.

We need to examine other options of assistance and increase the number of refugees Ireland is accepting. It was World Refugee Day on Saturday, and while it is welcome that the LE Eithneis saving lives, we cannot expect Italy and Greece to take care of all the migrants. This is a European issue and it needs a European-wide response. There needs to be an EU focus on increasing our collective support and help to southern European countries who are on the front line. One of these initiatives must be to increase our refugee quota.

Ireland can play its part on the front line but we also need to do more at home. Plans to disperse refugees landing in Greece and Italy around the EU look like they will be delayed for months and no decision will be made until September according to reports. Is this true? Ireland should not wait for a binding EU package. I understand that Ireland has offered to resettle up to 300 refugees this year. Considering the work of the LE Eithnewill the Taoiseach discuss with the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, the possibility of Ireland taking more refugees? In my opinion 300 is far too small in the face of a massive refugee crisis.

With regard to the remarks made by an Teachta Micheál Martin and the mandate Sinn Féin has in the Six Counties, when it comes to the North unfortunately Fianna Fáil is happy to comment but not stand for election. Like the eternal hurler on the ditch, it is full of analysis and empty on action.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The last few weeks have been another shameful chapter in the period of office of the Government when it comes to solidarity and internationalism with Greece and other people throughout Europe who are suffering under the cosh of austerity. It is really treacherous that the Irish Government has lined up with the austerity bullies of the EU against the Greek people. Last week the Taoiseach said Greece must face up to its responsibilities. What a shocking and ignorant statement to make. The people of Greece have more than faced their responsibilities and at a very terrible cost in that since austerity started 1 million jobs have been lost; there has been a 190% increase in unemployment; 30% of businesses have closed; there has been a 38% average salary reduction and a 45% average pension reduction; there has been a 42.8% increase in child mortality and a 98.2% increase in poverty; and two people commit suicide every day in Greece, a dramatic increase in suicide rates. All of this has resulted in almost one third of GDP being slashed.

The Greek economy has been devastated. This is as a result of austerity and implementing the troika's programme, not because they resisted but because previous governments implemented the austerity programme. It devastated the society and the economy. The notion the Greeks were overspending is nonsense. Greece has historically underspent in social spending as a proportion of its GDP. It had caught up to some extent only recently, until this austerity was imposed. It still spends three percentage points less, for example, on social spending than Germany, the Government of which is ramming this brutal austerity down the throats of the people and saying they have not given enough. Shamefully our Government played the best boy in the class routine yet again for its comrade in the European People's Party, Angela Merkel. I honestly wonder does the Taoiseach bring an apple to Mrs Merkel every time he goes to see her, like the little teacher's pet sucking up to Angela Merkel and the head of the EU bullies. The irony of this is what the Government gets in reward for sucking up to Angela Merkel and the austerity bullies. We got the answer to this yesterday when the IMF turned around and told the Government to be careful with what it does in the budget as it is not happy with any talk of pay restoration. For all the sucking up and treachery in terms of the Greek people, the IMF is still bossing the Government around.

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There is no reward. It is still being told what it can and cannot do in the budget. This is what the IMF said. It is pathetic and treacherous, particularly when we, like the Greeks, are still being forced to pay billions and billions of euros out in interest to these banks which destroyed the European economy and caused this mess in the first place. The Government should be ashamed of itself.

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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I concur with Deputy Boyd Barrett on the Government's attitude and behaviour towards the people of Greece and the Greek Government in the negotiations with the European Union. There is no need to go back over the statistics he quoted. Last week in The Irish Times the Greek Finance Minister, Mr. Varoufakis, published the same figures. This shows the extent to which the Greeks must go to get the message sent out. They certainly cannot rely on our parliamentarians and Government to bring back the message and speak about what the real situation is in Greece and what the Greek people are facing.

It was interesting to see the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, stepping out of line last week at the ECOFIN meeting when he complained that it was asked to discuss proposals that it had not seen. That reminds me a bit of what happens in here at times, when we are brought in to discuss legislation that we have not seen or that has not been published. That is the kind of attitude that prevails.

Finance Ministers are supposedly discussing and agreeing on the future of Greece without having seen the proposals or being able to discuss them in a reasonable manner. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, quickly pulled back into line yesterday when he backed up his friend and master, the German finance Minister, Mr. Wolfgang Schäuble, by berating Greece about the fact that the governing council of the European Central Bank, ECB, must meet every day to decide on emergency financial measures for the Greeks. I wonder did the Minister, Deputy Noonan, get his knuckles rapped for speaking out of line at the Eurogroup of finance Ministers meeting last Thursday, standing up and saying what everybody else knows to be happening.

It is absolutely disgraceful that we have reacted in such a way towards the Greeks, and this Government has demonstrated a distinct lack of backbone and solidarity, when the European Union is supposed to be built on solidarity and people working together. We are playing a part in forcing the Greek people to go through what has happened in the past five or six years. We should support the Greek proposals for a debt conference and their attempts to rebuild their economy and taxation system to ensure they can develop, grow and fund themselves. We should be part of building that coalition to change the direction that the European Union has taken.

The Taoiseach indicated that the crisis in the Mediterranean and migration issues would also be discussed on Thursday. The Taoiseach mentioned the actions discussed last April and how the European Union would deal with the issue, but it is not being dealt with at all. The EU is just trying to plug gaps and holes to stop people getting into the European Union. Does any discussion take place in European Council meetings about the policies and actions of the European Union that have caused this crisis? Two members of the European Union bombed the life out of Libya over the past number of years, causing the entire collapse of civil society there, and that has exacerbated the process. Other actions of the European Union across Africa are feeding into the crisis but we have not seen any discussion of how the European Union will change or develop policies that will allow people to choose to stay in their own countries, so that they would not be forced, through the policies of the West, into seeking to come to the West in order to better themselves.

7:05 pm

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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I echo the words of my colleagues on this side of the House about the absolute horror and shock at the attitude taken by the Government, and in particular the Minister for Finance, on the Greek crisis recently. Until now, we have been surprised at and condemned the silence of the Government in the crisis and for not sticking with the Greek people. I would have preferred if it had remained silent rather than doing as it has done now. I cannot believe this country, in which so many of our fathers and grandfathers stood up for the rights of small nations in the Second World War, is now taking its line directly from the largest nations in Europe. It is quite extraordinary that a country that has been silent for so long on the great issues of Europe because it is frightened of opening its mouth has decided to openly take the side of those whom Deputy Boyd Barrett quite rightly called "the bullies". What is now going on is nothing short of economic bullying.

One can understand why large nations might do this, or why the Netherlands, Finland, France or the German satellites might do it, but why is Ireland doing it? I can only explain this through one particular idea, which is not new. It is because the Minister for Finance and the Government could not afford for Greece to get a good deal, or at least a better deal than they got for themselves. They were going to be embarrassed if a write-down came about or if a particularly belligerent attitude worked. That would reflect badly on the negotiations they carried out in 2012 and since. The Minister for Finance and the Government had a choice: they could back the bullies or they could back the smaller nation. They could turn to the high powers, the pillars of the European establishment, by whom they have been captured, or the people of Greece. They opted to go for the big powers. It was a shameful decision and the wrong decision. They could have made a case for the Greek people by standing up and saying "Stop." That would have had an effect.

This issue is not what we are getting today about the agreement or elements such as pension ages. The real issue is debt write-off. Nobody in this House believes that the Greek crisis will be solved without write-down, and it will happen. It may not occur this time but it will happen in future. The debt write-off will be granted to the Greeks sooner or later if the matter is to be resolved, and that will acutely embarrass Ireland. The noble action for us would be to admit that we negotiated badly and the Greek people deserve a write-down of debt. We should be supporting them.

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union states: "The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law." The reality, as been demonstrated by the past five months of negotiations with the Greek Government, is that it is founded on the principles of debt slavery, dictatorship of the markets and the European Central Bank, denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of profit for the 1% above all. The election of Syriza five months ago scared this Government, the bondholders, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and establishments right across Europe because it sent out the idea that there could be an alternative to austerity and that the rule of these people, which has been unchallenged by the so-called social democrats, could be challenged. The idea was that a movement could be built to achieve real change.

Since that time, the approach of all establishments across Europe has been to achieve one of two aims: either bring down the Greek Government and replace it with a more compliant one, or humiliate it and send a message that there is no alternative, reinforcing the Thatcherite dogma and stopping any further challenge from the periphery or anywhere else in Europe. From day one after the election, the Syriza Government was met with complete disrespect for the choice of the Greek people. Jean-Claude Juncker declared that there were no democratic choices possible outside the framework of European treaties, or outside the framework of neoliberalism and austerity. We know the European Central Bank has played a particularly ignominious role in this and we know that previously it was central in silent coups in Greece and Italy in which elected governments were replaced with governments of bankers for bankers. We know it has sent ransom notes to the Irish and Italian Governments, and we heard last week at the banking inquiry of the role it played in pushing Ireland to a bailout and denying the burning of bondholders.

The disgusting role played yesterday by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, is absolutely shameful. The denials are ridiculous, as he said something similar in public. He insisted on tightening the noose around the neck of the Greek economy, which is designed to force Greece into signing up to a bad deal. That goes with a campaign of propaganda and terror in the media, financial terror in the markets and a run on the banks. There is also a campaign of political terror.

It seems they may have had a result, and the deal that is now being discussed may represent a continuation of austerity, particularly through cuts to pensions, increases to VAT and no agreement on debt write-down. If that is the case, this just ties Greece to continuing in the role of Sisyphus, pushing a boulder of austerity up a hill only for it to fall down again. It will not offer a way out. There was a major protest in Dublin on Saturday in solidarity with the Greek people. I appeal to the Greek left and to left-wing MPs in Syriza and in the Greek Parliament not to back down and not to be blackmailed. People across Europe are standing with them. They want to see a fight back. Instead, they should prepare for a confrontation with the 1% in Europe, with the Merkels, with the Junckers. We must join together in a struggle for a real alternative to austerity and for a different Europe.

7:15 pm

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to have an opportunity to wrap up today's important debate regarding the forthcoming European Council meeting. My colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Dara Murphy, would usually give this statement, but he is in Luxembourg today at the General Affairs Council, where the key focus is on preparations for the European Council.

I am confused about the attempted distortion of the comments made and the questions asked by the Minister, Deputy Noonan, in both our national interest and the interests of protecting the eurozone at the last meeting of the Eurogroup. I often wonder what questions some members of the Opposition would ask should they ever be in a position to attend such meetings. The question the Minister asked was very straightforward. It was based on comments made by the ECB regarding emergency liquidity assistance and how long it could be continued. In fact, it would have been irresponsible not to ask such a question. If Deputy Paul Murphy thinks we want to go back to the days when Irish Ministers did not bother attending European ministerial meetings, or if he thinks that people attending meetings should stick their fingers in their ears and say nursery rhymes, that is fair enough. The Minister asked prudent questions in the national interests and in the interest of the eurozone. The overwhelming majority of people in Greece wish to remain in the eurozone, which is also the declared public position of this Government.

As the Taoiseach has mentioned, I will address the security and defence element of the European Council. Security and defence issues have been scheduled for review at this European Council meeting since December 2013, when Heads of State and Government adopted substantive conclusions regarding the development of the Union's common security and defence policy, CSDP. The 2013 conclusions addressed three areas: increasing the effectiveness of the CSDP, developing and providing capabilities to support the CSDP, and improving the ability of the European Union's industry to provide those capabilities. Good progress has been made since then. The objective has been to deliver tangible and deployable capabilities so that the Union is in a position to launch a CSDP mission in a timely and efficient manner when and where needed. Since December 2013, four new CSDP operations have been launched, one in Ukraine, two in the Central African Republic and one in Mali. In addition, a maritime security strategy and an action plan for its implementation were agreed in 2014, as was an EU cyber-defence policy framework. In the context of the European Defence Agency, a policy framework for long-term and systematic co-operation was approved by Ministers.

This week's European Council is expected to give its backing to further improving the effectiveness, visibility and impact of CSDP. Ireland fully supports this objective. We have been an active participant in both military and civilian CSDP missions since its inception. The European Union's partnership with the UN has made a critical contribution to crisis management globally. We look forward to further strengthening this strategic partnership.

In addition, the Heads of State and Government are this week expected to approve the preparation by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of a new European foreign and security policy strategy. Since the last European security strategy was agreed in 2003, we have witnessed profound changes in the security environment. The EU is now surrounded by an arc of instability to the east and the south. Technology has brought great progress in people's lives, but it has also opened up new fronts of attack in cyberspace. Competition for scarce resources and the steady creep of climate change increase the risk of instability. Whereas the 2003 strategy focused on the security dimension, the intention is that the new strategy, to be completed in 2016, will cover both foreign and security policy, recognising that both strands of the EU's external action are fundamentally interlinked. Ireland fully supports this comprehensive approach and stands ready to contribute as the strategy is further developed.

Tragic events in Paris earlier this year prompted a renewed focus on security threats within the Union's borders. The solidarity demonstrated with the Government and people of France after the terror attacks was striking. Heads of State and Government convened an emergency session and committed to working together to ensure the security of Europe's citizens, prevent radicalisation, safeguard our values and co-operate with international partners. The Council is expected to call for implementation of the EU internal security strategy, which was recently renewed for the period 2015 to 2020 on the basis of a Commission communication. The strategy sets out the contribution the EU can make to protecting its citizens from threats posed by terrorism, organised crime and cyber-crime. No EU country is immune from the terrorist threat. We are stronger when we work together, sharing information and expertise and developing counter-narratives to the extremism that foments hatred and intolerance.

As the Taoiseach explained earlier-----

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister of State should read 1984. He sounds like Big Brother.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----the agenda for the European Council this week is particularly full. As preparations are ongoing, it is not clear yet how exactly the Heads of State and Government will divide their time among the many pressing issues. However, I am confident that the conclusions adopted will give the necessary impetus for further essential work to be advanced on both the external and the internal security agenda.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Watch out for the cyber-terrorists and aliens from outer space.