Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom aontú leat, a Chathaoirligh, agus fáilte a chur roimh an Uasal Mitchell. Céim dearfach é seo. I propose to the Seanad that a similar invitation be extended to the three Irish MEPs from the northern end of the country to engage with us during the course of the Irish Presidency of the European Union.

Earlier in January the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, visited Dublin. During his visit he made a remarkable statement. In response to questions about the role of the European Union in the financial crisis he argued that the "crisis was not created by the European Union." He went on to blame "unsustainable public debt created by national governments and by irresponsible financial behaviour tolerated by national supervisors." This is truly a remarkable statement. Clearly, he is right that member state governments, regulators and banking chiefs played a central part in the financial crisis that hit in 2008. However, to suggest EU institutions or EU policies played no part in the crisis is simply untrue. The role of the European Central Bank and its monetary policy were central to the economic collapse. Low interest rates provided a powerful incentive for both banks and governments to run up unsustainable debts. These rates were set by the ECB, not in the interests of the sustainability or stability of the eurozone but in order to serve the interests of the then stagnant eurozone economy. There is scant evidence of the ECB or the European Banking Authority expressing alarm when the inevitable lending and borrowing spree started to spin out of control. Likewise, deregulation of financial services, a policy actively pursued by the European Commission, undermined the power of regulatory authorities to police banks effectively. The sins of member state governments were also the sins of the Commission and the European Central Bank. They were also the sins of some parties then in opposition, including Fine Gael which engaged in what can only be described as auction politics in the run-up to the 2007 general election, adding even more fuel to the speculative fire caused by policy decisions in Dublin, Frankfurt and Brussels.

Since the onset of the crisis, what has been the role of the European Commission and the European Central bank? Has their approach been defined by the solidarity alluded to by Mr. Mitchell? Unfortunately, it has not. The same hawkish approach has prevailed, with devastating social and economic consequences for ordinary people, particularly in programme countries such as Southern Ireland. The ECB remains the single biggest obstacle to a meaningful deal on the banking debt. This means it is the single biggest obstacle to our exit from the troika programme and a return to the sovereign bond markets. At the same time, the Commission has been the engine of the anti-growth and anti-citizen policies of austerity that are hurting hundreds of thousands of families and blocking our social and economic recovery.

Just as the European Union played a central role in creating the financial crisis that engulfed us all in 2008, it is playing a key role in the perpetuation of policies that have failed and will continue to fail to tackle the causes of the crisis.