Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Yes, he certainly has views about it. He predicted that Spanish and Italian depositors will try to move money to Germany, forcing the ECB to intervene or accept the end of the euro. There is a danger that we could see the end of the euro, and I accept that. However, I believe the eurozone, and Ireland being part of it, is of huge benefit to Europe and us. I have no wish to throw that away. If Greece leaves the euro, that is tough on the Greeks but it is certainly not something we wish to do.

Ireland is a stable country taking the tough medicine. It is seen as the most successful of the three countries to be bailed out. We are making progress to recovery and we are getting confidence back. Irish businesses have taken the tough steps to recovery and to becoming much more competitive. New research from EUROSTAT, for example, shows that Ireland is the only country in the eurozone where the cost of hiring workers has fallen since the start of the crash. As The Economist says: "...the Irish... can draw consolation from a brighter outlook for recovery. After a grim slide between 2007 and 2010, the economy picked up modestly last year, buoyed by exports, and is expected to grow this year... Ireland has some trump cards which the other two economies lack. In particular it remains an attractive production base for high-tech international firms, especially in information-technology and pharmaceutical companies, lured by a skilled workforce and a low corporate tax rate... and thanks to a flexible labour market and an open economy it has already clawed back a good deal of the cost competitiveness it lost during the boom years."

I believe this treaty is balanced on our ability to get loans if we need them. That is the important element. Urging people to vote "No" means we will not have somewhere to go if we need loans, and there is a possibility that we will. Whether someone is running a family home, a business or a government, the books must be balanced. They must be balanced in the long term. We can borrow in the short term but in the good times we must cover that. We all know this. We also know that if we do not balance the books, we will have to go back to the banker to ask for help to get through the difficult period. We must not throw away the keys to the bank door and say we will never need them again. That is what the "No" voters are suggesting. They are telling us to throw the keys away as we will never need them again. I hope we will not but we might and we must have the ability to access cash quickly if we need it. We should not close down that facility.

We have made great progress in rebuilding our international reputation. This is crucial if we are to attract inward investment. A "No" vote would be a major setback and undermine the significant efforts that have already been made. Earlier today Members debated changing some of the rules we have for inviting foreign direct investment into Ireland. Foreign direct investment has played a major role in Ireland. The Minister said one in seven jobs comes from foreign direct investment. The figures he produced from the different investment measurements for Ireland put us among the top three places in the world for investment. It is one of the best countries in which to do business. I believe we are in danger of losing that if we vote "No".

We do not have a choice in this. It is easy to say that we must vote "Yes". If we vote for the treaty, we will still have a banker on whose door we can knock. If we vote "No", that door will be closed.