YES TO STABILITY TREATY WILL HELP US MOVE FROM MISTAKES OF THE PAST

Posted on April 19, 2012 11:52 PM   |   Permanent Link   

This Treaty is about ensuring long-term stability and economic recovery, which will lead to growth and employment

This Treaty is also about ensuring confidence abroad and maintaining and enhancing the influence that the Government has been rebuilding with investors, job-creators and with Europe.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the announcement yesterday of an additional 280 jobs in the Pharmaceutical industry in Baldoyle in my Dublin North East constituency.

For job-creating investment, from which so many announcements have come in recent months, these decisions have come about thanks to the renewed political and economic stability and above all the determination of the Irish people - despite very painful sacrifices - to restore Ireland's economic health. The last few years have not been easy for people, but I feel that Ireland has no choice but to make these decisions.

Ireland has to manage its debt in such a way that over time, taxpayers' money goes not into servicing debts but more and more into public services and targeted growth initiatives to create jobs.

This Treaty is also about making sure Ireland has access to the funding that allows these public services to function and that government spending is maintained. The Government is determined to return to the financial markets next year to raise money on our own again.

I have to say that I do not agree with the arguments against the Treaty. The proponents of such arguments have put forward no credible alternative. Ireland is very fortunate to be in a position, thanks to the Crotty Judgement, that its people can vote on this referendum. But if we vote no, Ireland will be left behind when the rest of Europe proceeds to work within the Stability Treaty. Ireland will deemed to be incapable of making decisions within the wider European interest and will suffer the consequences in a situation where Ireland would be left with no sovereignty and would be depending on the EU/IMF deal to keep the State afloat.

Have those advocating a No vote considered what countries outside Europe might think of Ireland - countries that might be seriously considering investing in Ireland?
How do the No side think Ireland will be perceived in the event of a no vote, given that Ireland is at present reliant on bailouts from the EU and IMF? What policies do the No side have to deal with political difficulties in the event of a No vote, to access to the European Stability Mechanism funding if the EU economy is still underperforming and holding Ireland back?

Voting No genuinely will not help Ireland's recovery. If the Stability Treaty is about anything, it's about making sure that the huge mistakes of the past are not made again. It's about getting a sustainable, fair and people-focused economy here in Ireland and across Europe where public money is available for public services and job incentives, not paying down debt.

Are the No side also aware, that they are in fact advocating a No vote against a Treaty designed to bring existing enforcement rules into EU law in a more effective way?

I have also heard arguments asserting that Ireland should leave the European Union altogether, this would be political and economic madness, Ireland would then be completely isolated, the new currency would nosedive in value compared to the main currencies of the world, and we'd end up in an economic maelstrom such as Argentina and Russia have gone through in the past two decades.

If Ireland goes down this path, there would be no money to allow the country to spend on its public services. In all likelihood, Ireland would require the assistance of the IMF - another bailout, run by the IMF alone, and far more unpleasant than the present bailout.

If the course advocated by the No side was followed it would result in the short term that there would be no money to run any sort of decent public services - universities, schools would have no funding. Hospitals services would be curtailed and social welfare payments would be slashed. I don't want that to happen.

Such programmes advocated by the No side are nothing short of economic madness.