Vice-Chair of Jobs, Social Protection & Education Committee
Labour Party TD for Dublin North Central
Monday, 14 May 2012
Dublin North Central TD, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said that a 'Yes' vote in the upcoming referendum on the Stability Treaty is the only result to guarantee the protection of our public services.
'The Irish state currently borrows €44million a day to keep our public services operating, to finance our social protection programmes and to pay the wages of our valued public servants.
'It is the vision of every responsible socialist and social democratic party across Europe to have secure funding models in place to secure and maintain valued public services. A 'Yes' vote in the upcoming Referendum will ensure that Ireland will have access to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in the event that further funding is required. A 'No' vote, as the Independent Referendum Commission have clearly stated, will lock Ireland out of that potential funding stream.
'It is incredibly irresponsible for those who pretend to position themselves on the political left, to propose that we gamble with the livelihoods of our public-servants, those who depend on social protection payments, and on the vital services that the state provides for all the people of this Republic.
'It would be an unconscionable betrayal of the ordinary hard working families, on the unemployed, on public servants and on those who need public services to lock them out of the European Stability Mechanism for nothing more than naked party political gain.
'Waiting is not an option. Our public services, our public servants and payments made from the public purse need certainty, a certainty that only a 'Yes' vote on the 31st of May can provide.'
ENDS
Twitter: @AodhanORiordain
www.labour.ie/press
