Transcript of Eamon O’Cuiv’s speech in favour of referendum “no” vote (or conditional “yes” vote) now available

To the regular audience on here, I hope you’ll indulge a spill-over of the weekend political slot into Monday, but it is a Bank Holiday Monday after all. Last Thursday there was an event to examine the forthcoming Fiscal Compact referendum; the event was organised by the National Forum, which presumably is still Marc Coleman’s lot. The event was held in the Davenport Hotel just down the road from Leinster House and there were four keynote speakers – Declan Ganley of Libertas,  Brian Hayes the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Michael McDowell, former Attorney General and leader of the defunct Progressive Democrats and lastly Fianna Fail grandee and until recently, deputy party leader, Eamon O’Cuiv, Deputy O’Cuiv having “resigned” after adopting a nuanced position towards the referendum which was at odds with the majority of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party.

The transcript of Deputy O’Cuiv’s speech is now available on his own blog here. The perception on here is that it dwarfs the inter-Government spat about Minister Hogan last week, because the speech seems to reinforce Deputy O’Cuiv’s position which at its essence argues that ratification of the Fiscal Compact should be conditional on a number of concessions from our partners in Europe, including a sharing of the burden of the bank bailout which is 40% of our GDP and is presently being 100% shouldered by this State whilst the benefit is to a substantial extent conferred on banks and banking systems outside the borders of this State. The speech is well worth a read.

Eamon also takes a pot-shot at the “tired polemics of prancing ponies of polarised politics” and it is hard to conclude that he is confining his remarks to the two coalition partners, Fine Gael and Labour. And coming on the back of the strained and conflicting accounts of Eamon’s resignation, and the iconic photograph – shown here in photos 11&12 – showing his unhappiness at the Ard Dheis, it would be surprising if this speech didn’t have imminent ramifications. Eamon’s blog is called “Outside the Box” which may turn out to have more than one meaning!

In terms of hard information, the speech sets out Eamon’s understanding that, following confirmation via a question in the Dail, that Ireland’s ratification of the ESM treaty – that’s the one which makes access to cheap and certain EU funding of future bailouts dependent on signing up to the Fiscal Compact – will take place AFTER the forthcoming referendum on 31st May 2012, Eamon says it is his understanding – and puts the “in my understanding” in bold letters – that the ESM treaty needs be ratified unanimously in the 27 EU member states and that the Fiscal Compact cannot be actualised until the ESM treaty is ratified in the Dail. Here’s where this gets convoluted but bear with this a second – if Ireland votes “no” in the 31st May referendum then if the Dail does not subsequently ratify the (new) ESM treaty, then the ESM cannot be introduced across the EU. The simpler point is that Eamon says that unless we get some debt relief and there are other reforms in Europe, then we can vote “no” now which will stymie the ESM in the rest of Europe, and presumably Europe will then move to address Irish concerns and there can then be a second referendum.

I am surprised that the speech and it deviation from the official Fianna Fail position received scant attention last week when the relatively unimportant matter of Ministers meeting with delegations led by an elected TD (Michael Lowry) seemed to hog the headlines.

Advertisement