On the 31st of May, the Irish people will be asked to vote on the European Stability Treaty. Passing this treaty is one of the key actions in getting Ireland back to work. By voting Yes, we will enhance business confidence, keep credit flowing for job creation and build a working Ireland.
Ireland has made its name as a top location for foreign direct investment. Passing the Stability Treaty will send a strong message to foreign companies that Ireland remains a stable, secure and innovative base for the world's top companies. A Yes vote ensures Irish people will continue to benefit from the job opportunities that come from this foreign investment.
As we continue on the road to recovery, we need to know that our renewed economy is based on solid foundations. This means continuing to show that we stand ready, willing and able to take the necessary measures for growth, by agreeing to sensible budget rules. A Yes vote will also crucially ensure that we have access to additional funding if we need it to run the country in the future.
On the 31st of May, Ireland has a chance to safeguard our recovery. Voting Yes ensures that we can chart our own path to better economic times. A Yes vote will help us to restore our sovereignty by helping us get back into the international markets quicker. It is vitally important that we bring back jobs and growth. A Yes vote will sustain the conditions to protect the jobs we have and create the jobs we need.
From a food industry perspective, a Yes vote will support our economic recovery, help restore consumer confidence in the domestic market and ensure we stay at the heart of Europe. Moreover with 3/4 of our exports going to the EU, a stable currency and a prosperous Europe is essential as we further develop these export markets and support the 1 in 8 jobs in the economy linked to agri-food.
The medical technology sector is playing a vital role in Ireland's export-led recovery and creating jobs in the process. While major challenges remain, it is crucial that we build on this success. It is important that we don't jeopardise the progress already made by isolating ourselves in Europe.
The retail sector needs the domestic economy to return to growth and for consumers to start spending again. For that to happen, we need to build confidence. The only way to restore confidence in Ireland is a Yes vote on 31 May.
Very little in the Treaty is actually new. Most of its provisions (particularly rules on balanced budgets and our national debt) were already provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and in six pieces of legislation (the “Six Pack”) implemented in 2011 to reinforce the SGP.
The rules of the SGP have been in place since the 1991 Maastricht Treaty and have been breached on a number of occasions - including by the largest member states.
One important new feature is that member states will no longer be able to break the rules without consequences.
Under the Treaty the rules will now apply equally to all Member States. This is crucial for Ireland.
To grow our economy and to give confidence to multinationals that provide investment and jobs in Ireland, we need sensible national budgeting, stability in the markets, and a strong euro. Without these factors, we will put the stream of investment coming into Ireland at risk.
A Yes vote will bring about certainty and the conditions we need to protect the jobs we need and create the jobs we need.
A number of major multinationals, including Microsoft and PayPal, have publicly supported a Yes vote in recent weeks, as well as a number of business groups like the IDA, IBEC and the Small Firms Association.
The Treaty won't solve the crisis on its own, but it is a vital tool in restoring stability and confidence to the Euro area. More action will be required in the years ahead to permanently solve the crisis.
The euro has been of huge benefit to Ireland:
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is a rescue fund of €700 billion. It is being established to provide loans to eurozone countries that need emergency funding. The fund is guaranteed by members of the eurozone. If we want to be able to access this bailout fund in the future, we need to ratify the Stability Treaty.
The Treaty makes it clear that we must vote Yes to the Treaty in order to qualify for funding from the ESM.
This is a perfectly logical requirement. The countries that are providing the money for the ESM obviously need some assurances that they are not putting money into a black hole. It is only fair that all of the countries that can access the ESM are signed up to the same sensible budget rules set out in the Treaty.
The Government is committed to returning to the markets when the bailout programme expires in 2013, and we are on track to achieve this.
It's the confidence, investment and growth generated by our access to the rescue fund that will help us emerge from the bailout.
It's also like a home insurance policy - you cannot get mortgage financing without it. You expect never to use it, but the fact that you have it gives you and your banks confidence and certainty.
We could apply for funding from the IMF if we can't get access to it elsewhere, but there is nothing to indicate that the IMF will give it to us.
We must draw a distinction between “applying” for funding and “accessing” funds. The IMF has already extended funding to Ireland well beyond our quota.
The IMF agreed to this exceptional level of funding to Ireland because the European authorities are providing two-thirds of the programme funding. This reduced the risk on the IMF on having their loans repaid.
The IMF has made it crystal clear in the negotiations of the Greek, Irish and Portuguese bailout programmes that:
If Ireland votes no in the referendum, Ireland will not have access to ESM funds, therefore no funding to match IMF funding.
Ireland wants to be back in control of its own economic destiny.
A Yes vote will have no impact on the Government's overall budget targets. The plan to reduce the deficit to under 3% of GDP by 2015 will not be affected by the Treaty. The Government has already announced its €17 billion Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme running until 2016. The Treaty will have no effect on this plan.
The real “austerity” would occur if we voted No, cut ourselves off from the ESM, and then required funding in the future. We would then have to close our deficit by speeding up the progress of adjustment.
This is one of the parts of the Treaty which is there already in EU law. This will not change even if we vote No.
The process of reducing our debt to 60% of GDP will be a gradual process, happening over many years. Ireland will not have to begin this process until 2019.
We expect economic growth to do most of the work. In the 1990s, we reduced our debt-to-GDP ratio from 95% to 35% through economic growth. We can do this again.
Reducing our debt ratio is in our own interests irrespective of this Treaty. Otherwise, we will continue to spend a huge amount of our taxation revenue (20% at present) paying interest on our national debt, when it could be spent on schools and hospitals.
No.
Ireland was to the very forefront of those seeking to prioritise growth in this Treaty - it's right there in black and white, in its very first article. Also, a series of growth-enhancing initiatives were agreed by EU leaders on the same day they agreed the Treaty.
No. Corporation tax is not an issue for the new Treaty and the Government's firm position in the matter has not changed. In fact, the word “tax” doesn't even appear once in the Treaty text. This Treaty has nothing whatsoever to do with taxation.
This is nothing to do with the Treaty. Michael Noonan is currently re-negotiating the burden on Irish taxpayers from the previous Government's reckless bank bail-outs.
But even without any bank debt costs, there is still a €13 billion gap between the Government's spending and its revenues, as a result of the wasteful spending policies of the past. Nobody else can fix this for us. And we have to fix it to restore stability and investment, and get back to growth.
No, the text of the Treaty is not being inserted directly into the Constitution.
The Constitution is being amended to include a paragraph which will allow the Government to ratify the Treaty, and allow the Oireachtas to implement the terms of the Treaty in Irish legislation.
All referenda on European issues since 1972 have been done in the same way.
Contrary to what the No campaign are saying, the amendment does not make the Treaty part of our Constitution. It simply allows us to do what is necessary to ratify and implement the Treaty, no more than that.
We will only have one opportunity to say Yes.
Previous EU treaties like Nice and Lisbon needed all Member States to ratify them before they could take effect, giving Ireland and every other Member State a veto over ratification.
The Stability Treaty can take effect once 12 of the 25 Member States have ratified it, so no one country can veto its implementation. The Member States who ratify it will just move ahead and implement it, leaving Ireland behind. So there would be no demand for a second referendum.