As expected TD for Dublin South & ‘Know it all,’ journalist Shane Ross remained silent until Sunday last, regarding his stance on the Stability Treaty Referendum.
Ross, who between 2000 & 2007 continuously lauded Seán FitzPatrick’s Anglo Irish Bank and Michael Fingleton’s Irish Nationwide as being the role models for Bank of Ireland and AIB to emulate, has now come down on the side of the No’s.
Ross has been quick to turn up at bankers AGM’s, when TV cameras were conveniently pointed in his direction, stating, like Sinn Féin, what people wanted to hear, while failing to account for his own performance as a member of the board of the Central Bank, during those Celtic Tiger boom years.
Shane Ross, Sinn Féin and the other various Alliances in this country of ours, remind me of a yarn sent to me recently by a regular reader of this website. It goes like this:-
“One day a very wealthy man was driving around in his Limousine. He noticed a man eating grass near the roadside & he ordered his driver to stop. He went over to the man and asked him why he was eating grass. The man replied that he doesn’t have food as he is unemployed. The rich man told the poverty stricken man to get into the car and drive with him.
On the way to the rich mans house the unemployed man said it was very kind of the rich man to help, but asked if he could bring his family along also. They were also eating grass further down the road. The rich man agreed & they went to fetch the mans wife and two kids. The unemployed man was very happy and couldn’t stop praising this rich man for his generosity & kindness. “Mister its very kind of you to offer help to me & my family, we are very grateful. The man looked at his unemployed passenger and stated, “No problem, the uncut grass at my place, which is currently about two meters high, should be enough to feed all of you.”
I will be voting Yes on Thursday next mainly for one simple reason. This Treaty will strengthen the rules designed to make governments keep a balance between income and spending, thus protecting Ireland’s future from the creeps, the Sinn Féin snake-oil salesmen and the Shane Ross spoofers, who condemned our generation to abject hardship, unemployment & immigration and every true loyal Irish man & woman should do the same. ‘Is féidir linn,’- ‘Yes, we can.’
Meanwhile Fine Gael TD, Noel Coonan, has said that a Yes vote in the Stability Treaty Referendum is the only way to guarantee we have access to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Europe’s new bailout fund. Deputy Coonan added that despite what Sinn Féin and others may claim, the situation has been clarified by the Referendum Commission.
“There has been a huge amount of misinformation in recent days on the ESM, Europe’s new €700 billion fund. The ESM is a bit like an insurance policy; we don’t plan to use it, but it’s very important to be able to access it, should we need it,” said Deputy Coonan.
“The only way to guarantee access to the ESM is to ratify the Stability Treaty. This has been unequivocally clarified by the Referendum Commission – an independent body. It has stated that the granting of financial assistance from the ESM will be conditional on the ratification of the Stability Treaty. Yet despite this extremely clear position, those opposing the Treaty continue to claim other options will be available.”
“Sinn Féin, in particular, has been flip flopping all over this issue. Sinn Féin first called on us to veto the ESM, even though this isn’t possible. They’ve claimed that we could get money from the EFSF – Europe’s current bailout fund – even though it is coming to an end in July 2013. They then claimed the IMF would give us money in the future if we need it, but when it was made clear that the IMF would only lend to us in conjunction with the EU, Sinn Féin gave up on that position. Their latest ridiculous claim is that we will be able to access the ESM even if we reject the Treaty.”
“All of this flip flopping clearly illustrates that Sinn Féin is deliberately misleading the public on this issue,” continued Deputy Coonan.
“Let’s be clear about this; we will need to borrow €18 billion in 2014, when our current funding runs out. The Government intends to raise this money on the financial markets, but if that proves difficult the ESM will be available to us – but only if we ratify the Stability Treaty. Those opposing the Treaty cannot explain where we would get this €19 billion if we follow their approach. Again, this has been clarified by the Referendum Commission. Sinn Féin should simply check page 10 of the Commission’s leaflet.”
“Sinn Féin and other opponents of the Treaty want us to take a leap into the unknown. A Yes vote will bring about stability and certainty; a No vote is a massive gamble, which will shake investor confidence and undermine our economic recovery. Those advocating this approach cannot claim to have the country’s best interests at heart.”
“I am encouraging everyone across North Tipperary and South Offaly to vote Yes on May 31st, as it is the only way to guarantee sources of funding to run this country in the future. A Yes vote will be a key step on our economic recovery as we rebuild a working Ireland,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
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