I welcome the decisive Yes vote for the Stability Treaty. This decision is a necessary step on Ireland’s road to recovery. We now have to build on it.
Throughout the referendum campaign, we have argued that in Ireland, as in the Eurozone, stability is necessary for growth, and that growth is necessary for recovery.
This Government has already been working on a plan to stimulate our own economy, and we were among the first member states to make the case for a growth strategy in Europe. That strategy must now be progressed.
So too must we see progress in the work to secure a more sustainable long-term deal in relation to Ireland’s bank debt. A long-term deal that is workable; that is just; and that is in the interests of the Irish people.
As a Government, throughout this campaign, we have listened to the people. We have listened to their strong and legitimate desire for a better deal on the burden of bank debt Ireland is carrying.
We have heard, and we understand, the daily pressures that people are facing – in relation to their mortgages; their jobs; their businesses; their living standards; and the prospects for their future, and that of their children.
We all want this country to recover. For jobs to be created. For a better, more hopeful future for all of our people.
We will take this result today, not just as the passing of the Treaty itself, but as a call to redouble our efforts as a Government to work for recovery, and fresh hope.
And it is a call, from the Irish people, to our partners in Europe too.
This result will strengthen our hand in our discussions with European institutions and other member states. We will use this decision, not just to ratify the Treaty, but to promote in Europe and in Ireland, the policies and steps which are necessary to create jobs for those who are unemployed; to bring investment into our country; and to generate growth.
I would like to thank the Labour Party Director of Elections, Joan Burton, the Parliamentary Labour Party, and the individual members of our party, who worked hard to secure this result. I wish also to thank the numerous organisations and individuals, many of whom had no connection to politics, who stepped forward to support this Treaty.
Together, as a people, and as part of the Eurozone and the European Union, we now have to take the next decisive steps towards a clear growth strategy for Ireland, and the EU.