David Norris (Independent)

I also welcome the Tánaiste to the House. I do not envy him his role in government. It is an especially difficult time for anybody in government and must be very wearying. I am, by nature, a contrarian. I remember P.G. Wodehouse describing himself as a performing flea of English literature. I suppose I fulfil the role of a gadfly in Irish politics.

I will not repeat everything I said this afternoon on the European Stability Mechanism. Following on from what previous speakers have said, I wish there was a population stabilising mechanism. I do not gloat in the fact that there is an increase in the Irish population. I have spoken about world population, and I include Ireland in that. Every single person born here does about 100 times more damage than a person in India. I am not thrilled by it and it creates problems and stores them up for later. I would like to see stabilisation.

I do not believe in growth. Growth is a load of rubbish. I am delighted the Tánaiste has a smile because I intend to cheer him up further, as a good socialist, by saying that what we are witnessing is the death of capitalism. It cannot come quickly enough as far as I am concerned. The reason is simple. It is predicated on the complete contradiction of infinitely expanding markets on a planet that is demonstrating its finite nature day by day. Therefore, fiddling around does not do an awful lot of good. Trying to preserve the system at the expense of people is a waste of time and grossly immoral. I am ashamed of the way Greece was treated and in which Germany dictated that democracy should be extinguished there. Although I know it is controversial to say this, it has wrecked Europe twice already and is going to do so again. The disease of angelosing merkelitis is spreading. It is the equivalent of ankylosing spondylitis in the human frame. It creates a curvature of the spine in order that everyone becomes supine in the face of circumstances. That is what is occurring and it is appalling.

Let us look at the German example and, forgetting about the wars it started, how the whole thing was created. Look at Bismarck and Germany. A nebula of small dukedoms and princedoms started the Zollverein, just as we are doing. That released centripetal and centrifugal forces that led, inevitably and inexorably, towards one of two conclusions - fiscal unity and an empire or an explosion. The same force has been released in much greater form within the European Union and will lead in the same direction. The conclusion will be an explosion.

I see and hear, on television and the streets of Dublin, of people suffering. It is disgraceful, in 21st century Europe, that people should be starving and living in boxes off Syntagma Square. None of us can feel proud of this.

Like me, the Minister is a forthright man. He said he was open about the Government's intention to legislate for the amendment to provide for legal underpinning of the decision of the people in the referendum. That is true up to a point. He said it was with this knowledge that the people had voted and resoundingly approved the stability treaty. Come on. He told the people he would give them a black eye if they did not vote in favour of the amendment. They were terrified. On every radio programme people were saying they did not want to vote in favour of the amendment, but they were frightened not to. They were frightened into it.

I was working hard in my office because I am not one of those one-and-a-half day Senators about whom some have spoken and listening to my colleague, Senator Seán Barrett, who said there was room for more democracy and, perhaps, a European Senate. A little accountability would be good. It is what we have here. Yesterday there was a meeting of international scholars who were smuggled into this House like a Trojan horse. It was feared they would up-end us. At the end of their session 90% of these international scholars said this place should be retained, while 10% abstained. Not one single person supported the abolition of the Seanad.

We are looking at a two-speed European Union. This Bill will implement it. The European Union is becoming less and less democratic. The mechanism can be triggered, not by 17 member states or even by 12, but by eight - Germany, France and the other large economies. One third of the eurozone countries or one quarter of the member states of the Union can dictate this, which is dangerous. Tomorrow when we consider the ESM, we must look at what we are walking ourselves into. The ESM will be inviolable and immune from examination by audit bodies, the police, the Legislature and the Judiciary. How can it possibly be democratic? I do not understand it.

I hope the Minister is pleased that we will be seeing the death of capitalism. Perhaps we can build something a little more human.