Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

The Senator was a cheerleader for the Government for the past 13 years.

I seek a debate on the future of the European Union and the eurozone and ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to be present for it. Many people have asked me a question in the past few days since the events of last Sunday. They thought this country was an integral part of the European Union and that other European nations were friends of Ireland. Senator Walsh, among others, made reference to the interest rate to be charged. The IMF is charging a much lower rate than the European Central Bank. Why is that the case? Why is it that our so-called friends in Europe are putting the boot into Ireland?