Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I will not detain the House. The establishment of the ESM was central to the debate on the referendum. The stabilisation of the European situation is something all citizens want, regardless of their political allegiance or whether they agree or disagree with the recent referendum or with the stability treaty itself. It could be said that the treaty and the Bill which reinforces the European Stability Mechanism is a step. It is not the solution to Europe's problems. I agree with most of what the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, said. The ESM is required as a permanent stability mechanism for EU member states.

I urge those who are of a mind not to support the Bill to reflect on the benefits that would be evident if a mechanism such as the ESM were in place when we introduced the bank guarantee scheme in 2008. Already that will be clear to the Spanish who did not have a blanket guarantee and whereby the €100 billion they are now securing from Europe will sit on the sovereign. The Minister of State is aware that further work must be done. He referred at the end of his speech to solidarity among European citizens, which I share. All of us know the difficulties Irish people are going through as well as those in Greece and other countries, including Cyprus as of yesterday. That is not something we want to see because on balance the European project over the past 35 years has been a positive force. I accept we have had a global financial crisis, a failure of the banks and regulators and, in some instances, governments. That is something we do not wish to repeat.

The lack of pace in dealing with the crisis is of concern to me, as I am sure it is to others. The crisis has been going on for three and a half years. I have discussed previously with the Minister of State on numerous occasions the degree of urgency evident from governments in central Europe, particularly Germany, which has a different view on the matter and is very important to the stability of Europe. I understand that states cannot go in with a big stick and demand certain things but I would expect the Government to have a negotiating position that is more than just to give us the best deal equivalent to what some other country gets. Perhaps the Minister of State would reflect on that. It is the one criticism I have.

I am aware that the negotiations are not easy, but it is not a sustainable position for the Government to state that we are going to insist upon the best deal that other countries get. I would like to think that we would have a position ourselves and that we would look for a better deal on the basis of the fact that our citizens in the past four years have taken on the burden and seen their standard of living reduced substantially. People are paying extra taxes and suffering the cuts that have been imposed and they are doing it in the main in a way that implies understanding if not acceptance. We have not seen the type of unrest we have seen in other European states. It is commendable of people in this country but it is extremely difficult to look forward to the next three or four years.

The ESM will make a difference. That is why I and my party support the Bill and supported the referendum. We will facilitate the expeditious passing of the Bill through this House as much as possible because it is crucial, but it needs additional amendment. We must expand the ESM so that it can inject funds directly into banks that require help. That will happen but it is a pity it is not happening yet. Everyone can see that as the situation evolves and gets worse, neither Germany nor Europe will not be able to hold off. It is inevitable that it is coming down the track but it is a pity it is taking so long. We need the ESM to go hand in hand with pan-European regulation of the banking system. I do not fear oversight of the banking system at a central level. That should be done properly. There is nothing to be feared from that. It is not a diminution of sovereignty. We are ensuring that we work together as best we can for the good of our citizens. We do need a Europe-wide deposit protection scheme. That was a promise the Government mentioned before the election. A mechanism absolutely needs to be put in place whereby senior bondholders share the burden of the further debt that will be foisted upon European citizens and that has been foisted upon our own citizens. It is as plain as the nose on one's face. The Greek people were able to secure a write-down, but I would not want to be in Greece. I am not saying it was to their advantage, but if it had not been arrived at, the situation in Greece would be even less sustainable than it is now. Our citizens, Government and Oireachtas may be able to move forward with budgets that bridge the deficit between what we spend and what we take in, but we can still call for a write-down and for burden-sharing in the banking sector.

I am sure the Minister knows what else needs to be done in Europe. I have outlined, from my own party's perspective, areas in which we feel Europe needs to strengthen legislation and regulation and, more importantly, to allow a wider remit for the ESM and the ECB in dealing with the banking crisis. The most important message for the Minister is that I do not believe that simply waiting for another state to get a better deal and then piggybacking on that is the best negotiating position. We should have a position. I will not go back over the phone call with Chancellor Merkel and what transpired there. I have spoken about that in the House on a number of occasions. I would like to think the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach have a real position that is not simply an intention to wait and see. We need to be securing allies across Europe among the smaller and peripheral states, but in addition, the larger states need to understand that this country and its citizens, back in 2008, saved the euro and the European banking system. Anyone who looks back at the events of 2008 and everything that has happened since then - events that have hurt our citizens immensely and resulted in a significant drop in our cost of living - will see that the position taken by Ireland, whether we agree or disagree on it in hindsight, was that no bank should fail. That is what we were told at the time. The previous Government was bounced into a deal at that time and was bounced into taking the external assistance. I would like to see Europe acting much more quickly, without waiting for other countries. We should consider what happened with Cyprus last night. If it is the case that nothing will happen until a German bank is threatened with failure, that is not sustainable.

There could be more to the stability mechanism Bill. In addition, there should be more to the European Stability Mechanism, and I think there will be more to it. However, our Government needs to press more in that regard and to seek the things I and other colleagues are asking for today.