Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

With less than two weeks to go to the referendum day on 31 May, it is important to have a debate in the House on the importance of the treaty to Ireland, to the future of our country and to the stability of the euro. The first reason for voting "Yes" to the treaty is that it promotes good housekeeping. Passing the treaty will prevent future Governments from spending and borrowing excessively from future generations to finance reckless and unsustainable budgetary policy. The treaty is essentially a set of fiscal rules designed to strengthen and stabilise the European Union and to support job creation and growth. The rules are backed up by strengthened surveillance, co-ordination and governance among member states. For Ireland, this will mean legislating to introduce fiscal rules that will require future Governments to run sensible and sustainable budgets. We never want a repeat of the past number of years. The rules will ensure that never again can a Government increase current expenditure on the basis of unsustainable tax receipts as we saw in the property bubble in Ireland.

Contrary to what has been suggested by many on the "No" side, the treaty will not lead to our budgetary and fiscal policies being decided in Brussels and Berlin. The Government of the day will be free to decide the level of public services and, in line with common sense, it must ensure it raises sufficient revenue to pay for the services.

Another reason to vote "Yes" is the importance of foreign direct investment. The multinational sector in Ireland employs over 140,000 people directly in factories and offices across the country. As we have seen in recent weeks, many significant job announcements have been made. Today, in County Galway, 150 jobs were announced by Merit Medical, which will be of great significance to those in west Galway and many in east Galway. Ireland is still a significant place to invest and in a debate this morning the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, cited interesting figures. On a global scale, Ireland scores exceptionally well in many of the key areas of importance for investors. This score helps to drive investment. The IMD world competitiveness yearbook of 2011 ranks Ireland first in the world for corporate taxes, business legislation for foreign investors and availability of skilled labour. The report ranked Ireland second in the world for consumer price inflation, third for direct inward investment flows, third for availability of finance skills and fourth for labour productivity and exports of commercial services. We certainly need to protect this. When the people of Ireland make a decision, they should keep this in mind.

The foreign direct investment sector is proving to be a key driver of job creation, following record levels of investment in 2011, and more than 1,000 jobs a month have been announced by multinational companies in the year to date.

This sector employs thousands of graduates directly from Irish colleges and universities and offers graduates great opportunities to build rewarding and challenging careers.

Multinational companies see Ireland as an excellent base from which to service their European and world markets. In addition to the US and European multinationals, emerging countries such as China, are beginning to look at Ireland as a hub and a gateway to the European and US markets. I refer to the recent very successful trade missions to China and the visit to Ireland by the Chinese has been very significant and it is hoped this will drive future Chinese investment in this country.

These companies are not establishing in Ireland with the intention of servicing the domestic market. Potential investors regard our central place in Europe as key to our attractiveness and a "Yes" vote will send a clear message to investors that Ireland is fully committed to the European project. A "Yes" vote will ensure that investors who have put decisions on hold pending the outcome of the referendum will make the investment and will ensure that the existing companies continue to trade and prosper in Ireland. However, a "No" vote will diminish our attractiveness as a base for investment and this is a risk we should not take.

It is significant that the IFA has decided that a "Yes" vote is best for our families, best for our businesses, best for our communities and best for our country. Membership of the EU and a stable euro is critical for exports, jobs, inward investment and economic recovery. Agriculture is the only major sector with a common EU policy, the Common Agricultural Policy, which is centrally funded from the EU budget. Negotiations on the future size and structure of the CAP towards 2013 are ongoing and it is vital that Ireland is in a position to exert its influence and maximise its goodwill in these negotiations.

It is significant that the managing director of Glanbia has said it is critical to have a stable currency base in order to maximise our competitive position as export markets are developed. The chairman of Connacht Gold, Padraig Gibbons, said that a "Yes" vote is critical for building confidence in our fragile economy and for ensuring that Ireland continues to have access to all sources of funding and support from the EU. The chief executive of Cork Marts cites the availability of credit at a competitive rate as being significant and many more people across the agri-food business are supporting the "Yes" vote in the referendum.

This treaty is an insurance policy or a safety net and it will ensure that we will have access, if needed, to ESM funding which will allow us to fund those public services and all Government spending. The Government programme is on target but the country is far from immune to global economic events. The markets need to know that we will have a backup in the form of the ESM for access to funds if required. It is vital that Ireland ratifies the treaty on 31 May. I call on all the people of Ireland to study the treaty over the next week and to attend the information meetings. If anyone from east Galway is listening, there will be an information session in Ballinsloe on Monday evening at 8.30 p.m. and all are invited. The Government and the Referendum Commission are doing a good job in providing information to the electorate. I hope that on 31 May, the people of Ireland will give a resounding "Yes" to the stability treaty which will ensure the future success of our country.