Government plans to publish ESM bill, EU-IMF bill and household charges bill before the end of the year

The Government plans to publish a number of bills during the current Dáil session, including a number arising from the EU-IMF programme.

The Department of Finance will publish five bills in the coming months. The Fiscal Responsibility Bill will provide a statutory basis for a range of fiscal policy and expenditure management reform, while another bill will enable Ireland to ratify the treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism. The European Financial Stability Facility (Amendment) Bill and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill will enable Ireland to ratify agreed amendments to the EFSF framework agreement and the Greek loan facility agreement, and will be introduced as soon as this week.

Among the other important bills to be published are two from the Department of the Environment. The Local Government (Charges) Bill will impose an annual household charge on owners of residential properties, while the Water Services (Amendment) Bill will establish a system for inspecting and monitoring the performance of septic tanks and other onsite waste-water treatment systems.

No European Stability Mechanism Treaty by stealth - Irish electorate should decide

Oireachtas members and MEP call for referendum

Twenty-six members of the Oireachtas and one MEP, have joined in an initiative with the People’s Movement (which campaigned against the Lisbon Treaty in the two referenda) to demand that the Irish electorate have the determining say by way of referendum on the proposals to establish a permanent eurozone fund by Treaty amendments that will be binding on Ireland.

A letter from the Oireachtas members and the MEP, who include members of various parties as well as Independents, says that the Treaty formally subordinates Ireland’s interests to those of the stability of the euro area as a whole yet there has been an almost total media blackout on the implications and consequences of the ESM for the country.

In a statement last night People’s Movement spokesperson, Kevin McCorry, said that the Government should come clean about the European Stability Mechanism Treaty that Finance Minister Noonan signed in July, a Treaty that commits the State to "irrevocably and unconditionally" contribute some €11 billion towards an Eurozone fund from 2013 onwards with the possibility of demands for further sums down the line.

The People’s Movement is also calling on Fianna Fáil to explain why it apparently supports the Government action in amending the EU Treaties by stealth.

It is reasonable, given the state of our economy, Mr McCorry said, for people to know the full details of the cost and implications to the country of borrowing to meet Ireland’s initial €1.27 billion payment and the remainder of the €11,145,400,000 which all concerned seem happy enough to commit us to pay. What guarantee can they give us that the country will get any benefit?

Also if the State were to receive ESM assistance there are no limits to the "strict conditionality" provisions that might be attached in light of the fact that the Treaty formally subordinates Ireland’s interests to those of "the stability of the euro area as a whole" It would mean a regime of unmitigated austerity for decades to come.

And for whose benefit? Certainly not the people of Ireland.



The full text of the letter is as follows:

"The Government in the coming months will seek to push through the Oireachtas an amendment to one of the two Treaties on which the EU is based authorising the establishment of a permanent Eurozone fund, the European Stability mechanism (ESM), and the ratification of the Treaty that actually establishes the fund.

The Treaty which has already been signed but not yet ratified commits the Irish State to irrevocably and unconditionally contribute €11 billion in various forms of capital to the ESM when it is established in 2013 and possibly further sums after that at the behest of Eurozone Finance Ministers when contributions come up for regular review. This will have to be borrowed on the international market.

Weaker economies like Ireland would have to put up cash immediately to cover any short-fall of paid in capital that might arise while triple A rated economies like Germany and France would be put under less financial pressure by being able to fulfil their obligations by way of guarantees.

Assistance from the ESM will only be given on the basis of strict conditionality—these conditions being unspecified and potentially unlimited. If the Irish State were to receive loans or grants or favourable

borrowing facilities from the ESM, these conditions could require the introduction of a balanced budget constitutional amendment or dropping the objection to the harmonization of corporate taxes at EU level.

The Treaty formally subordinates Ireland’s interests to those of the stability of the euro area as a whole yet there has been an almost total media blackout on the implications and consequences of the ESM for the country.

The support of Fianna Fáil for the Government action has further contributed to the managed nature of the whole process. The ESM is part of a package of measures that can only lead to fiscal union in the EU, beginning with stricter controls on budgets and public spending starting with the so-called Euro Plus Pact and soon moving on to a harmonising of taxes.

We believe that the legislation to enable the State to license its establishment and ratify the Treaty setting it up should be put to the Irish people in a constitutional referendum and we urge the Government to let the people decide on this matter of crucial importance for the future of our country"

The signatories are:

Gerry Adams TD, Senator David Cullinane, Clare Daly TD, Dessie Ellis TD, Michael Colreavy TD, Seán Crowe TD, Pearse Doherty TD, Martin Ferris TD, Luke Ming Flanagan TD, Joe Higgins TD, Mary Lou McDonald TD, Finian McGrath TD, Mattie McGrath TD, Sandra McLellan TD, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD, Catherine Murphy TD, Paul Murphy MEP, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin TD, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, Maureen O’Sullivan TD, Thomas Pringle TD, Senator Kathryn Reilly, Brian Stanley TD, Peadar Tóibín TD, Mick Wallace TD.

Related Link: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100577

For further information, contact Kevin McCorry 086 3150301 info at selisboninfo dot com

Important Conference - The EU in crisis: Prospects for regaining Ireland’s sovereignty. 7-8 October 2011

The EU in crisis
Prospects for regaining Ireland’s sovereignty.

Friday-Saturday 7-8 October 2011 in the Ireland Institute
27 Pearse Street Dublin 2


Friday 7 October 7.30pm
Was ‘Social Europe’ a con?

-- Speakers: David Begg, Gen Sec ICTU
Alex Gordon, Gen President RMT
Chair; Seamas Ratigan, Campaign for a Social Europe


Saturday 8 October 11.00am
Should Ireland stay in the Euro?

Speakers: Frank Keoghan, People’s Movement
Joe Higgins TD
Chair: Padraigh Mannion, PANA


Saturday 8 October 2.00pm
The EU’s emerging superstate

Speakers: Roger Cole, Chair of PANA
Declan Power, Security and Defence Journalist
Chair: Michael Youlton, Campaign for a Social Europe


Saturday 8 October 4.15pm
The struggle to regain Ireland’s sovereignty

Speakers: Alex White TD
Robert Ballagh, Peoples Movement
Aengus O’Snodaigh TD.
Chair; Mick O’Reilly, People’s Movement

Pat Cox for President?

Pat Cox is one of the elite steering group of the Spinelli Group.

They state as their aim; ‘We want to make a network of those who choose the European interest above their national interest, those who want to push the federal project in their respective environment".

Now we know why Cox wants to be President! Besides being a corporate pimp, he openly declares that he places EU interests before those of Ireland.

Do you think he’s a suitable person to be President of Ireland?

The reward for default; why don’t we just get on with it?

The credit default swap (CDS) for the Icelandic sovereign has now dropped to 200 points and has not been lower since months before the banking collapse in October 2008. The CDS has been in constant decline since January and indicates growing belief in Iceland’s economy.

Meanwhile, the CDS spread for Ireland is 683 basis points.

So it seems as if defaulting on debts run up by greedy bankers (German and French with the assistance of their Irish acolytes) and letting your currency depreciate works better — even from the point of view of investors — than socializing private-sector losses and sticking with a fixed exchange rate – the Euro?

Anybody for President but Pat Cox!

Pat Cox, an Irish MEP for fifteen years (1989 - 2004) and president of the European Parliament for two years (2002 -2004) has now set his sights on the Irish Presidency. 

It is well to remember some of Mr Cox’s connections and just to remind you of some of them, have a look at this old blog on Politics.ie; 

http://www.politics.ie/lisbon-treaty/102036-yesman-pat-cox-talks-transparency-practices-secrecy-3.html

Is this person suitable for the position of President of Ireland?

Anyone for a "Stop Pat Cox" Campaign?

What does it take?

Four short months ago Michael Noonan, called the IMF-EU deal “a downright obscenity”, now he tells us that “Europe has been very good to us . . . They’re actually treating us very well.”

The same Fine Gael that endlessly plugged five-point plan suggested that Ireland might have no choice but to “write down the value of the bonds in the Irish banks” now blithely informs us, via Noonan, that “that debate is over”, that ‘there is no stomach’ in Europe for burning the bond-holders.

And Joan Bruton and the Labour party are strangely quiet on the issue now that the ‘old guard’ of Labour have parked their rears in ministerial seats.

But, more ominously, the people are also very quiet as stealth tax follows stealth tax and the promised change from FG/Labour turns out to be a change for the worse. Do we get what we deserve in the end?

Government determined to make working people pay

Believe it or not, the €70 billion we’re putting into insolvent banks is €38,000 for every person at work in the Irish economy. If we add €35 billion for NAMA, it’s €57,000 for every worker.

A worker on the average industrial wage will pay €260,000 in tax over a working lifetime. It would therefore take all the tax paid by more than 400,000 workers over their entire careers to pay for the bank bailout alone. Even if we’re wildly optimistic and assume that we’ll eventually get back half of the €105 billion; that still leaves 200,000 of us working our whole lives to save the euro and pay off the gambling debts of a private elite.

It simply cannot be done without reducing us to absolute poverty. The FG/Labour government is determined to make working people pay but we should shout ‘we can’t pay and we won’t pay’ – and call for a structured default now.

More broken promises – remember?

Irish voters were promised a special Treaty Protocol on (a) Neutrality, (b) Ireland’s right to decide its own company taxation and (c) the constitutional position on abortion, in the next EU Treaty.

At the time it was thought that this would be the EU Accession Treaty for Croatia or Iceland. Now to establish the ESM, (a) the Lisbon Treaty will be amended and the amendment ratified by all EU Member States and (b) ‘The ESM will be established by a treaty among the euro-area Member States’ binding the EU Member States signatories.

The Government and the Opposition parties that foisted the Lisbon Treaty on the Irish people have an obligation to tell us why it is impossible for them to have the promised Protocol now. As well as this promised Protocol itself, the Government promised during the 2009 Lisbon Treaty referendum that it intended registering the agreement to give Ireland a Protocol with the United Nations in New York. Has this been done? If not, why not?

Thousands protest in Madrid today over the economic crisis – but why are we so quiet?

Thousands of Spaniards have defied a ban on demonstrations and mounted a protest camp in the heart of the Spanish capital to express anger at political parties and the country's handling of the economic crisis.

The crowds packed Madrid's Puerta del Sol square this morning and pledged to stay there until after municipal and regional elections this weekend. The Madrid electoral board had banned the demonstration because it could influence the elections Sunday.
Similar demonstrations have been held in other Spanish cities.

The protests are a spillover from countrywide demonstrations last Sunday and have triggered a lively debate throughout the country, something that we badly need. 

I wasn’t asked ………

The European Union plans to open an office in Benghazi, Libyan town in insurgent hands, to facilitate assistance to the Transitional National Council.

Lo ha riferito il capo della politica estera dell'Ue, Catherine Ashton.

EU foreign minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton said; "Intendo aprire un ufficio a Bengasi, in modo da poter spostarci verso la gente... per sostenere la società civile, per sostenere il Consiglio nazionale di transizione", ha detto Ashton al Parlamento europeo, aggiungendo che il sostegno Ue include aiuti per il settore della sicurezza, riforme e istituzioni."I intend to open an office in Benghazi, in order to move towards the people ... to support civil society to support the National Transitional Council," Ashton told the European Parliament, adding that the EU support include aid for the security sector reforms and institutions.

But that could hardly mean any military involvement?

That’s why we need a referendum on the European Stability Mechanism!

“The Community shall not be liable for or assume the commitments of central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of any Member State, without prejudice to mutual financial guarantees for the joint execution of a specific project”.

- Article 104b, Maastricht Treaty, 1992.

“We have a Treaty under which there is no possibility of paying to bailout states in difficulty”.

• German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, 1 March 2010.

And before the Irish ‘forced loan’ …..

“The euro is in danger – if we do not avert this danger, then the consequences for Europe are incalculable, and then the consequences beyond Europe are incalculable.”

- German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, 19 May 2010.

“We cannot allow the bankruptcy of a euro member state like Greece to turn into a second Lehman Brothers […] The consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank”.

- German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, 18 April 2010.

“There is a grave threat of contagion effects for other member states in the monetary union and increasing negative feedback loop effects”.

• Bundesbank Chief, Axel Weber, 5 May 2010.