FF/FG/Green have Heaped More Debt On To a Heavily-Indebted Ireland
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has panned the government for completely failing to stand up for the Irish people, shackling the Irish people to even more debt and consigning the Irish people to eternal, and never-ending servicing of the debt.
Tóibín: “Our national debt stands at well over €200 billion. That amounts to over €42’000 for every man, woman and child in this country, or over €90’000 for every worker in the economy. That is the third highest per capita level of debt in the world, surpassed only by the US and Japan. During the financial crisis, the EU imposed a deal on Ireland that was not imposed on any other country. We were forced to bail out their banks, we were blackmailed and browbeaten into a deal at our lowest point, and our children’s futures compromised. The net result of this deal that Thomas Byrne doesn’t know how much it’ll cost is to tack on a further €3.2k onto the per capita debt rate in this country. That is twice what a German person and four times what a French person would pay despite them also being a net contributor. On a per capita basis, we are the second largest contributor after Luxembourg. Yet this deal is meant to be a great relief for the Irish people?”
“Ireland will make a net contribution of €15.7 billion euros to the EU deal over 7 years . This amounts to 4.5% net contribution of our GDP. Austria, Germany, Holland, Sweden & Denmark all secured rebates on their contributions to the EU budget ranging from €377 million to €1.6 billion. We secured no such rebate. We received a reduced agricultural budget, a reduced CAP allocation, and a slice of the Brexit fund alongside all other member states – in return for no contribution rebates, and our per capita contribution exponentially increasing.
“The EU is dominated by national self-interest and the capacity of a government to get the best return for their country. By this metric, this government has failed. Despite making up only 1% of the EU population, we are the second highest contributor. We are going to have to make up for the shortfall in CAP payments out of our own funds. And we secured no rebate on our contributions to the EU budget. The fruits of Irish labours will be felt across Europe, but not at home. We are supporting everyone else’s recovery but our own.”
