INISHOWEN TD Padraig
MacLochlainn has said the European Commission and
European Central Bank must share their portion of
blame for the economic crisis in Ireland and the
eurozone.
Speaking ahead of a special Dáil debate to mark
Europe Day, the Sinn Fein spokesperson on European
Affairs said:
“There is a certain irony that this debate comes
after a weekend of intense speculation on the
ongoing crisis of the Eurozone and a discussion -
provoked by economist Morgan Kelly – on the origins,
impacts and alternatives to the EU/ECB/IMF austerity
programme supported by the present government.
“Contrary to the views expressed by Commissioner
Geoghegan-Quinn last week, membership of the euro
did not save the country from the worst excesses of
recession in 2008 and 2009.
"Rather euro membership and the Stability and Growth
Pact, along with the failed policies of the Fianna
Fáil party, the party to which Commissioner
Geoghegan-Quinn belongs, contributed to the collapse
of the Irish and European economies," said the
Buncrana TD.
“While Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn’s party
colleagues were busy driving the Irish economy into
a massive debt-fuelled property bubble at home,
across in Brussels her colleagues at the European
Commission were busy implementing a neo-liberal
economic policy agenda that facilitated the
debt-fuelled boom and bust cycle of recent years."
Deputy MacLochlainn said they were all "ably
assisted" by a European Central Bank whose monetary
policy "further fuelled the casino economics of the
boom".
He said Sinn Féin believed the EU and, in
particular, the European Commission and European
Central Bank "must share its portion of blame for
the economic crisis in Ireland and across the
eurozone".
"The failed policies of these EU bodies, like that
of the Irish Government, need to be abandoned if we
are to have any hope of economic recovery," added
Deputy MacLochlainn. |
