Independent attacks talk of Armageddon

REPEATED warnings of “Armageddon” if the fiscal compact treaty referendum is not passed “are truly staggering”, Independent TD Thomas Pringle has claimed.

Speaking for the first time at Leaders’ Questions, the Donegal South-West TD asked why the Government would not make a new application or use the “roll-over” facility that is available to Ireland under the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) fund.

But Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the EFSF option “is not open to us”. He said it was clear the EFSF was prepared to continue the funding “that is already committed to under the existing programme”.

The Government hoped to be back dealing with the markets when the bailout progamme finished at the end of 2013 but “if it turns out that a second bailout will be necessary” the only source of funding available “is the ESM [European Stability Mechanism] and access to the ESM will be possible only if the treaty is ratified”.

Mr Pringle, who opposes the treaty, criticised Minister for Finance Michael Noonan for “raising the spectre of the December budget” and claiming there would be no foreign direct investment. If EFSF funding would not be available to Ireland, then “why did the European heads of state declare on March 30th that any member state in a programme will be funded up to the point where they can return to the markets”, he asked.

Mr Gilmore said the Government hoped by the end of 2013 “we will be able to say goodbye to the troika and fund our State in the normal way by access to the markets”. But he insisted that the EFSF “will not take new applications for funding”. He said that for Ireland to have access to the ESM “we are required to ratify the treaty because the ESM will only be available to states that ratify the treaty”.