Kieran Allen, a UCD academic and author of The Fiscal Treaty and the Euro Crisis: Reasons to Vote No, has claimed that Ireland faces 20 years of hardship if it votes yes.
Speaking at a meeting in Castlebar at the Welcome Inn Hotel last week, he said: “Ireland has one of the highest levels of debt in the EU, if measured according to the size of its GNP. Currently the country has a debt of over €180 billion and this will lead to a debt to GNP ratio of 150 per cent.
“GNP is a more accurate measure for Ireland as it excludes repatriated profits from multinationals. But even if the GDP measure is used, the debt comes in at 120 times the size of the economy. This is double the figure that is stipulated by the EU and therefore we will be forced to cut this debt in half over 20 years — or face fines.
“Unless one assumes that there will be a return to sustained growth, this will amount to cutbacks of over €4 billion a year. This is entirely unreasonable because large countries like Britain and Germany were able to postpone their debt payments for World War II until quite recently.
“There is no good reason why we should set legally bound artificial targets which will destroy our society. The Yes side should tell us where they will enforce cuts and tax hikes to meet the figures required by the fiscal treaty.”
A copy of Kieran Allen’s booklet can be accessed at www.voteno.ie/article/ucd-academic-launches-new-booklet-fiscal-treaty
