Sean Barrett (Independent)

In conjunction with John Esmond Birnie, former member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, I wrote a pamphlet on the reason I thought that jurisdiction should stay out of the euro and I believe the decision made by Mr. Gordon Brown to stay out was correct. Moreover, I heard the Swedish Minister for Finance speak on BBC Radio 4 yesterday when he stated that opinion polls suggest 10% of people there would join the euro while 80% would not. It is possible to be successful outside the euro.

I make the point that the euro is not the European Union. The European Union is responsible for doing all the good things over the past 50 years that Members on all sides have mentioned. The euro was a mistake and unfortunately, the solution to the mistake is to give more power to those who caused the mistake in the first instance. Failed institutions should be accountable to people and should not seek to take all the fiscal and monetary powers out of each member state and concentrate them in Brussels. Moreover, I believe it is not 26 to one on this issue. As other speakers have noted, four or five other member states probably are reconsidering seriously the events of last weekend. It also is the seventh time such a summit has been held. If such summits do not tackle the basic problem of the design faults in the euro, as former President Delors has stated, it is a pointless exercise to stay up until 4 a.m. producing documents, some of which are not yet complete, some of which remain to be legally analysed, as Senator Bacik noted, and others of which will not be ready until next April or May. The best economic talents in the world should be brought together to ascertain whether the euro is now beyond redemption or whether it can be saved. However, leaving it to armies of bureaucrats at 4 a.m. has now failed seven times and it is time for something better.

By the stairs to this Chamber, there is a photograph of the Taoiseach of the day making a presentation to the then Cathaoirleach and Ceann Comhairle of what are termed the last Irish banknotes and coinage. This is premature and that sign may have to come down. I envisage the euro becoming a number of currency regions, some based on Germany, others based in the Mediterranean and others based on the Nordic countries. It was too much too far. As it is only a currency, why should so much misery be caused by it? At a time when Winston Churchill was excessively attached to the gold standard, a phrase was used that he crucified the English economy on a cross of gold. The euro is just a currency and should not involve so much unemployment. Ireland had an unemployment rate of 4% and was solvent when it joined the euro. Its unemployment rate is now 14 % and it has needed to be rescued. One must examine openly what evidence Ireland had to join in the first instance and the reason it has failed.