Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to welcome the Minister of State to the House and I compliment him on his speech. As is traditional, Fianna Fáil supports the EU and of Ireland being a full and passionate member of it. The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, also called the fiscal stability treaty, is an intergovernmental treaty signed by 25 of the member states of the EU, excepting the Czech Republic and the UK, on 22 March 2012. The treaty will enter into force on 1 January, when Ireland takes over the Presidency, by which time 12 of the 17 members of the euro area will have ratified it.

The European Union is first and foremost a political project resting on economic foundations. Its aims are to promote economic and social progress, to bring peace and prosperity to the people of Europe and to build societies based on democracy and the rule of law. I quote Mr. Brendan Halligan from his presentation to the Oireachtas sub-committee on the treaty, who said that "economic co-operation between the countries of Europe is the cement which binds them together politically" and is the basis of their interdependence. It began as a Common Market 60 years ago, then evolved into a Single Market or Internal Market and eventually expanded into the economic and monetary union. The centrepiece of the economic and monetary union is the euro, the common currency of 17 of the member states of the EU. The EMU and the euro are to be safeguarded by rules applying to the conduct of the finances of any country adopting the euro as currency. The rules on public finances were broken, however, and this is the main reason we must introduce legislation to ensure it does not happen again.

There is a growing consensus that the current European crisis is profound. Mr. Halligan stated it is as profound and menacing as the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. The two key points are unemployment, which is at an average of 10% in the eurozone, and the accumulation of private, public and corporate debt in advanced countries, which poses a grave threat to the global economy. As the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on jobs, enterprise and innovation, I sincerely hope the Irish people will vote "Yes" to the forthcoming fiscal compact treaty. Unemployment, at 14.7%, is the greatest challenge facing our country. Ireland's greatest challenge is creating employment. I do not include the Minister of State in this comment but the Government is distracted by septic tanks and household charges. If it is not one thing, it is another. The Government is forgetting the real issue - unemployment - and we are not alone in that. Greece has an unemployment rate of 21.8%, the highest in its history, Portugal has an unemployment rate of 15% and a 40% rise in emigration, and Spain has record unemployment at 23.6% and half of the young people, between the ages of 15 and 25, are unemployed. The mess we have got into bothers me. When we watch British television it is obvious they think their economy is in serious trouble but their unemployment rate is 8.3%. According to the unions, this treaty is not about jobs but, as far as I am concerned, it is about jobs. I draw attention to the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland calling for a "Yes" vote. This organisation is made up of the chief executives of the leading multinationals of the world, such as Google, Facebook, IBM and PayPal. The chief executive of PayPal is the sister of our former colleague, Senator Kieran Phelan, who sadly died two years ago. PayPal has just brought 1,000 jobs to Dundalk.

In the first four months of this year, 2,300 new jobs have been created by US companies. The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland stated that ratifying the treaty is necessary for further recovery and a stronger economy. The managing director of IBM Ireland, who is president of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, stated that Ireland has a plan for recovery and the stability treaty is a further step in the right direction. Instability and uncertainty have affected every citizen and with this treaty we have the opportunity to put in place new limits on public debt and budget deficits, providing stability not only for Ireland's domestic finances but across the eurozone.

Mr. O'Neill the managing director of IBM Ireland, speaking on behalf of the US multinationals in Ireland said a "Yes" vote will promote stability, investment and growth in the economy. By voting "Yes" we will maintain our position as an attractive location for investment, continue to put in place the necessary economic and budgetary reforms and preserve our strategically important place in Europe. As far as I am concerned, Ireland must be unequivocally at the centre of Europe. We are a small open economy on the periphery. Unless we can make and export goods at a competitive price, we are going nowhere. This Government is the first Government that has welcomed wholeheartedly the contribution of foreign direct investment. It was taken for granted during the years of the bubble and I am pleased this Government knows where we would be without foreign direct investment.

Ratification allows member states to gain access to the permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, should that be necessary. Failure to ratify the treaty will impact negatively on the strength of Ireland's future funding position, whether we require the bailout fund or not. Membership of the EU and a stable euro are critical for exports, jobs, inward investment and economic recovery throughout Europe. Access to markets and exchange rate stability are critical for export dependent sectors, including the agrifood sector, which exported goods worth €9 billion in 2011.

Listening to trade unions yesterday and this morning, I find they do not know what they are talking about. This treaty will be put in place if we ratify it or not and the unions are ignoring the fact that we will not have access to funds if we need them. We will not be able to pay the teachers, doctors or nurses. It is a blind debate; they do not know what they are talking about. Unless we promote products that we can sell abroad at a competitive price we will not be able to create employment.

Go raibh maith agat.