DÁIL ÉIREANN

Sitting Time: 19:00 (7 o'clock)

Sitting Date: 05/04/2011

Private Members' Business

Bank Bailout and EU-IMF Arrangement: Motion

Deputy Finian McGrath: No Fianna Fáil. Absolutely. Notable by their absence are
those who promised change in Irish politics and Dáil reform, so I think we have a long
way to go.

I am grateful for the opportunity of contributing to this important debate on the urgent
need for a referendum on the EU-IMF loan package scheme. Before going into the
details, I should highlight the amount of stress that some politicians, senior bankers and
developers have caused the people of this country. They have tortured our citizens and
now we are all suffering the consequences. They have left the poor, the unemployed
and others with major economic and social problems, and now we all have to try to
clean up the mess. It was a scandal, a shame and a crime against the Irish people for
which those responsible should be jailed. There should be no fence-sitting on this issue:
those people should be charged, prosecuted and jailed.

Our country is being dictated to and controlled by the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund, not in our interests but in the service of global finance
houses. Our children and future generations have become virtual indentured labour for
as long as it takes to pay off the debts of a speculative clique or golden circle that has
controlled our country. They will sell off more and more of our public companies and
assets, including our natural resources, in their efforts to pay back money owed to these
bankers.

As people will appreciate, the crisis is not in fact about sovereign debt but has resulted
from the socialisation of the private debt of financial institutions and developers. That
is the truth of this debate. Despite it not having been the people's fault, the State -
supported by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - is imposing
a continuing transfer of billions of euro in national wealth from the people to both
domestic and international banks in regressive tax increases, cuts to services, pay cuts,
redundancies, an assault on workers' pension entitlements and the National Pension

Fund, and through the disposal of national assets. Far from being sovereign debt,
this is the illegitimate and odious debt of a handful of private financial institutions and
developers and a corrupt political establishment that was then taken on by the State
against the people's wishes. On this most critical issue, the people have not been
consulted, which is why I am demanding a referendum. Instead, we have suffered a
circus of political commentators and so-called experts presented to us by State and
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Bank Bailout and EU-IMF Arrangement: Motion

4th April 2011

private media. We should face up to the fact that there is not an informed debate going
on. Look who controls many of our national newspapers.

I commend my colleagues in the technical group for having tabled this motion. The
details show that the bank bailout and the EU-IMF loan package arrangements impose
an onerous debt burden on Ireland which will have profound consequences on the
economy and society for years to come. Widespread and justified outrage is being felt
across a wide range of Irish society. There is an overwhelming democratic case for
putting the continuing bank bail-out and EU-IMF agreement to a referendum, given the
profound implications for the economic and social future of our country.

The motion "resolves to call a national referendum providing the Irish people the
opportunity to accept or reject the bank bail-out and the EU-IMF loan package
arrangement". That is what this debate is about. The technical group is putting it up to
the Government and to Fianna Fáil on these issues.

We have not yet heard about bank staff, many of whom will probably get the boot from
their jobs in the next six months. Low-paid staff in various banks will be affected and
there is major concern among them. I fully support the Unite trade union's campaign
to defend jobs and services in the banking sector. We must also consider what some
bankers have done to small businesses. Over 200,000 jobs in local communities
around the State are now being hammered and we may expect 20,000 or 30,000 people
to lose their jobs as a result.

Last week, we saw how the Government - shame on the Labour Party - still supports
the universal social charge, which is an unjust and regressive tax. It is important to
highlight these issues. The Irish people should have the right to decide this issue. I
reject those who say that as we have had an election, the current Government has a

mandate on this issue. They do not. They got a mandate to do the opposite. It is time
for Members of this House to stand up for democracy and the people, including the
unemployed and weaker sections of society. It is not fair that they should have to suffer
the consequences.