Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Seán Crowe TD, has called on the Government to back the idea of a European Debt Conference during a motion tabled in the Dáil by the Technical Group and Sinn Féin.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“This motion here tonight is simply requesting the Government to support a European Debt Conference.

“It makes absolutely no sense for the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, and the Government of a state with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 111% to say “No” to a European Debt Conference.

“There is the possibility of a new way, a fairer way of dealing with the debt issue through a European Debt Conference, yet the Irish Government is opposed and not supporting the idea of this conference.

“Tellingly there is not a single word in the Government’s amendment about the role the ECB or the Troika played in creating and worsening the financial crisis in Ireland.

“There is not a single word about the poverty and deprivation that is facing many Irish families because of austerity.

Crowe also raised the Government’s refusal to back a UN Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes:

“Ireland was only one of 11 countries to vote against the creation of a UN Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes. It was the only heavily indebted European country to vote No. The Committee has been established and it is meeting in New York for the first time today, but the Irish Government is boycotting this meeting.

“In my opinion the position this Government have taken is clearly against Ireland’s best interest.

“This UN mechanism could potentially support not only Ireland but some of the world’s poorest countries, who suffer under the burden of unfair, unearned, and in many cases unpayable debts.”

ENDS