A Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on Ireland’s acceptance of the EU Fiscal Compact Treaty is vital for future economic stability and development.
I would urge constituents in County Clare to take the time to consider the implications of a No vote which would cut Ireland adrift economically from the rest of the EU. A Yes vote is a vote for economic stability and fiscal prudence in the years and decades ahead.
The EU Fiscal Compact Treaty, which the Irish government was involved in negotiating, is about ensuring that we never again see the kind of financial meltdown which the EU has witnessed in recent years.
It is about ensuring that all EU member states play by the same rules and that we have a certain degree of financial common sense built into the finances and economies of EU member states.
The EU Fiscal Compact Treaty will help prevent a repeat of the EU sovereign crisis which has had such a crippling impact on the finances on every EU state, including Ireland.
It will also give international markets confidence in investing in EU countries, including Ireland. It is notable that unemployment rates in the US are down significantly in the last quarter and consumer spending is up, signs that they are finally emerging from recession.
Yet the EU continues to move from crisis to crisis and a large part of that is down to the fact that the markets and financial lenders are worried that financial regulation in the EU is too loose. It is in Ireland’s best interests to improve consumer sentiment and have market confidence return. We rely heavily on foreign direct investment here in County Clare, where tourism and investment from overseas are big drivers of our economy.
Anything then that will help bring confidence back into the markets is to be welcomed. Here in Ireland, undoubtedly mistakes were made by the former government in respect of socialising private bank debt. We are no longer in full control of our finances and rely on funding from the Troika to pay public sector wages, run schools and keep the country funded. Our job as a Government is to return the country to economic independence as soon as possible. I believe that ensuring we move forward with a stronger, tighter and better regulated Europe will assist us greatly in that.