Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, to the House. It is especially appropriate the Minister of State is here today because, as indicated by Senator Cummins in the earlier part of his contribution, he has been at the forefront of various economic summits and Council meetings and brings a vast array of experience of expertise to this subject.

I am sure the Minister of State has by now a sense of the core of Members' contributions which have centred around the task force on economic governance. I am sure, however, and the Minister of State dealt with this in his speech, what is of great significance is not so much what was agreed at the Council meeting but what happened afterwards on the margins between Germany and France and, in particular, the public statements by Chancellor Merkel and the German finance minister which immediately created uncertainty in the bond markets to the point that as we speak today bond rates have increased from 6.25%, which was unacceptably high, to an unprecedented 8%. It is interesting to note that the same German finance minister refutes in the media today any suggestion that he or his Government are responsible for this spike in the bond rates. I have no wish to tangle with our German friends. Perhaps the Minister of State might set out what he believes are the reasons the bond rates spiked so dramatically in the immediate aftermath of the statements made, which were so vague as to spark this uncertainty.

Ireland does not have to go to the bond markets until next May or June. Some economic commentators have suggested in recent days that it does not matter right now how high the bond rates go because we are not entering the bond market. Spain and Portugal will enter the bond markets next month, however, and the figures in this regard will be an indication of sentiments in terms of where they are at. It is right and proper that this House should focus on the task force on governance. I urge the President of the Commission, Mr. Van Rompuy, to have his conclusions reached as quickly as possible. In fairness, this was the agreed position of all the Heads of State.

The other aspect of the discussions relates to the financial stability of the euro area a whole. A question that also arose is whether countries which break the agreement should be denied the right to vote or to have any involvement in the decision making process, which Ireland has robustly opposed. The Minister of State might state his view on the thinking is in this regard.

On the Seoul G20 summit and the conclusions of the Council that the world economy is recovering from the crisis, which is positive, the conclusions, as agreed by European Union leaders, state that the summit must send an ambitious signal of the concrete and timely implementation of measures agreed in the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth, notably concerning fiscal consolidation plans, financial regulatory reform, social cohesion, job creation and the need for further structural reforms, which is high flowing language with which, obviously, we all agree.

In the past week, however, and this appears to have been somewhat underreported, the Germans and British have set up a small committee headed up by, among others, Mr. Peter Sutherland, former Attorney General and a man of significant weight in the global financial community, to investigate the real possibility that owing to currency fluctuations and the worldwide economic crisis, an element of protectionism is arising in some of the major trading partners. This would be a disaster for Ireland which is an open trading economy. We must sell 85% of what we produce. The fundamental reason for high unemployment rates in this country is a lack of world confidence and the failure of people to buy our products, despite phenomenal growth in our exports, which is a tribute to those involved in this area. This House should put on record the gratitude and appreciation of the political establishment and public of the obvious hard work and entrepreneurship shown by those involved in the export area that they have managed to maintain a strong trajectory of growth to the point whereby we, unlike Portugal, Italy, Spain and Greece have a balance of payments surplus. It must stand for something in the world today that Ireland is not to be cast in the same category as those countries.

The fact that Mr. Sutherland and another gentleman from the UK, whose name I cannot recall, are being tasked with establishing whether there is increasing protectionism in this area shows just how fragile world trade is right now, even among the bigger countries. Perhaps the Minister of State, without dwelling too much on the subject, might state his view on this matter. As I said earlier, it would be disastrous for Ireland were there to be a trend worldwide, in particular among our major trading partners, towards increasing protectionism. I would be concerned in the main about the United States and China.

Another conclusion of the Council meeting, briefly referred to but discussed in detail at the September Council was that "the High Representative is invited to develop ideas on how EU/NATO cooperation in crisis management, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, could be further strengthened". When this was first indicated and put into the public domain, the usual naysayers came out of the woodwork stating that Ireland's neutrality was again under threat. If one were to believe this constant refrain that dates back to the Maastricht treaty of 1992, we would have been at this stage involved in several world wars, with hundreds of thousands of Irish boys and girls having been signed up to some type of phantom European army. The Minister of State, whom I am aware has been strong on this area over the various Lisbon treaty debates, might confirm that we are not in any way compromised by this Council recommendation to strengthen relations between the EU and NATO which, to me, is somewhat surprising. From my own limited experience on the Council of Europe and reports with which I was involved at the time, indications were that relations between the EU and NATO were strained.

In the context of the summits with China and the Republic of Korea and the Asia-Europe meeting which will take place later this year, the conclusions state: "Concrete steps should be taken and priority areas of cooperation between Europe and Asia ... cooperation on regional issues such as Iran and North Korea". I am disappointed there is no reference to Burma where a farce of an election was held in recent days. Ireland has a proud record of supporting the ordinary people of Burma in their fight for democracy and equality, in particular the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Minister of State might comment on whether the issue of Burma will be raised at the summit and if Ireland will use its good office, because of its track record in this regard, to ensure it is discussed.

Another conclusion is that "The upcoming reflection on the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy will provide an opportunity to deepen relations with the Union's eastern neighbours", in particular in regard to the forthcoming summit with Russia. This is an important and significant development. Russia is by far one of the largest trading partners within Europe. Given its history and status and that Ireland has been a good friend of Russia, which friendship has been reciprocated, the Minister of State may have an opinion to offer in this regard.

Another conclusion is: "The EU, in partnership with African countries, will continue to pursue the objectives of economic development, good governance, transparency and accountability in the context of the joint EU/Africa Strategy." Again, Ireland has a role to play here because of our development aid programme. Mr. John O'Shea of GOAL recently articulated concern, as expressed by others working in this area, about the increasing dominance of China which is not adopting the type of human rights dimension that we in Ireland have, namely, ensuring whatever support aid we give to these countries carries at least that particular dimension to it. China does not appear to be concerned about to whom it gives its money, be it the most corrupt of dictators or the most corrupt of countries. It is simply interested in getting its feet into Africa.

We need some hope in this area. We need to know that the European Union is grappling with and is capable of coming up with a solution that will help not alone this country but peripheral countries of the EU. We must be given confidence that in terms what is happening in the world today, Ireland, collectively with its European Union partners, can come up with the solutions and achieve the task they have set themselves, and that they do so sooner rather than later.