Troika left in no doubt about disastrous effect of, and opposition to, bank/bondholder bailout and related austerity
United Left Alliance TDs Joe Higgins and Richard Boyd Barrett met the Troika of the EU Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund this morning along with some Independent TDs.

The key points we raised were as follows:

That the bailout of bankers and bondholders private gambling debts by putting them on the back of the Irish people was unjust and we rejected the contention of the E.U. Commission’s Head of Mission, Mr Székely that this could be done in a ‘fair’ way.

We pointed out that the austerity policy was decimating the domestic economy and that further austerity would have further detrimental effects:

We sought answers on how the banking funding agreement from the recent EU Brussels Summit would concretely affect the debt situation in Ireland.

Unfortunately the Troika could give us no detail whatever on the practical application of this agreement.
We asked the Troika to justify the new taxes on the home and water which they are pushing.

Mr. Beaumont of the IMF replied that the reason for insisting on a ‘property tax’ was that it represented a ‘’stable’’ tax source.

We pointed out that the Troika was on a collision course with a huge swathe of the Irish population in insisting, along with the Government, that these taxes are enforced.

Unfortunately there were no positive proposals whatever from the Troika on the urgent need to kickstart the economy and implement urgent measures to create employment.

It is quite clear to us that bailing out the European financial markets system is the fundamental aim of the Troika and therefore that the Irish people need to engage and volunteer to force a change of policy from the disastrous austerity policy and in support of taxation on major wealth and urgent schemes of major creation through developing public investment.

Joe Higgins TD, Richard Boyd Barrett TD

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