I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.

Let us hear the quiet man.

He should speak up. We cannot hear him.

Give us the Lisbon treaty jobs first - they are three years overdue.

No agreement, Joe.

The Taoiseach should debate the treaty. He should stop hiding behind media soundbites.

The Deputy should know all about media soundbites.

He always gets the last word during these brief Dáil exchanges. The people should get full information on all the issues pertaining to this treaty. The European Stability Mechanism is one of the central issues he has raised as an argument for supporting the treaty. He should take this opportunity to tell the people of this country the truth about the ESM. Will he admit the reality that we will be liable to pay up to €11 billion if we sign up to the ESM? That is what our liability will amount to.

What will it be if we do not sign up?

That money is likely to end up bailing out Spanish banks.

Two plus two equals ten.

After putting billions of euro into bailing out Irish banks, we will end up bailing out Spanish banks and other European banks. Where will we get the €11 billion from? That money is in addition to the €8 billion in cuts under the troika programme over the next three years, the €5 billion in cuts that are required to meet the deficit targets under the fiscal treaty and the billions in interest repayments on a debt that will be €200 billion by the time we exit the programme.

The Deputy's answer is to default, to walk away and to let it all fall.

Will the Taoiseach admit that even if we pass the fiscal treaty, there is no guarantee that we will get money from the ESM? If the Spanish banks require recapitalisation, there might not be enough money in the ESM to provide assistance to this State if it requires it.

It will be all gone.

Even if we can access money from the ESM, it will be subject to strict conditionality, which means more austerity will be shoved down the throats of the people of this country.

The Deputy is advocating the ESM.

Is he in favour of good housekeeping?

Can we have a question, please?

Is it not incredible that the ESM gives complete immunity from legal prosecution to the board of governors of the ESM?

Would you ask a question, Deputy?

The ESM will pay no tax. All of its documentation will be inviolable from any sort of oversight or investigation.

I ask the Deputy again to ask a question. He is over time.

That is what is in the treaty.

Rubbish.

Ask a question.

Will the Taoiseach admit that the ESM is not an insurance policy for the Irish people? It is not a good reason to vote for the fiscal treaty.

Thank you.

It is actually one of the best reasons to vote against the fiscal treaty.

This is an opinion piece. The Deputy is not asking questions.

It is not an insurance policy for the people of this country. It is an insurance policy for the banks and the speculators in Europe.

The Deputy is over time. I will have to cut him off if he does not ask a question.

It is a mechanism to shove more austerity down the throats of Irish citizens-----

Is the Deputy in favour of good housekeeping?

-----and citizens across Europe.

The Deputy thinks default is the answer.

Is there austerity in St. Michael's?

That hysterical rant was completely meaningless and without truth.

It was a rant.

The last word always rests with the people. The people own this referendum. The independent Referendum Commission, chaired by Mr. Justice Feeney, is absolutely above reproach. It has been entirely objective, truthful and accurate in its comments to every citizen who has asked it a question about this treaty. The commission has made the point quite clearly that as the law has been passed, this referendum is the people's property. The people will have the last word. The chairman of the independent commission pointed out quite clearly on page 9 of the guide to the stability treaty that "the granting of financial assistance in the framework of new programmes under the European Stability Mechanism will be conditional, as of 1 March 2013, on the ratification of this Treaty by the Contracting Party ". Mr. Justice Feeney has confirmed that is the case. In other words, countries that ratify the treaty will have access to the European Stability Mechanism. Our contribution to the ESM is €1.2 billion. We contribute less than 2% of it. We have a place on the board. We have a say in how that money will actually be spent.

It is clear that the analysis of the Spanish banks which is to be carried out will bring factual evidence of what the situation there is. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mr. Rajoy, has been speaking about this. The ESM is the permanent bailout facility for the European countries. As the House is aware, it can be used where required for the payment of salaries and pensions and for the running of a country's services. I am not suggesting that it will be required. It is our intention to emerge from the programme as quickly as possible. In order for us to do that, clearly we have to acquire the confidence of the markets. We will not acquire the confidence of the markets, which are without sentiment or sympathy, by voting "No". A "Yes" vote here will guarantee access to the ESM if it is ever required. It will guarantee a continuation of the line of investment and confidence in this country for job creation. It will allow us to put our own regulations in place to ensure every future Government, like every Government across the entire eurozone, will have responsible budgeting and will not return to what we had in the past. I hope Deputy Boyd Barrett can understand what I am saying.

Is it not the truth that the Taoiseach is deceiving people?

Stop messing and tell the truth.

Ciúnas. Have some respect.

According to the ESM treaty, which I have before me, "there may be paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce of that Fund sums, aggregating to a sum not exceeding €11,145,400,000".

The important words are "not exceeding".

That is in the treaty.

The Deputy should be asking a question, rather than giving information.

The treaty also states that "if indispensable to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area as a whole and of its Member States", then "the ESM may therefore provide stability support". If it "may" provide it, then it follows that it may not.

We do not have long to wait until 31 May.

The point I am making is that "may" is not the same as "will".

Deputy, please ask your question.

The treaty also provides that "in the interest of the ESM, the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Governors, alternate Governors, Directors, alternate Directors, as well as the Managing Director-----

Dr. Strangelove.

-----and other staff members shall be immune from legal proceedings". That is what it says. It is incredible.

It is not the only thing that is incredible.

It is no wonder that the Taoiseach does not want to face the facts.

Will the Deputy ask a supplementary question? He is over time.

Will the Taoiseach-----

Will the Deputy speak louder? We cannot hear him.

-----own up about the-----

I will turn off the Deputy's microphone if he does not ask a question.

I started with "Will the Taoiseach", which means I was about to ask a question. Will he own up about the deception he is perpetrating on the Irish people about the real content of the ESM?

Go away.

It may cost us €11 billion to bail out the European banks.

Deputy, this is not a time for statements. This is Question Time.

It is ranting time for the Deputy.

Will you ask a question?

We will have no control over this body. It will be immune from prosecution.

You are way over time, Deputy

It will not have to pay taxes.

I ask the Deputy to accept the Chair's ruling.

I asked a question.

Is there any chance you will come back, Finian?

There is a lot of noise coming from the Government benches.

As a subsidiary of Sinn Féin on this matter, Deputy Boyd Barrett is promoting the cause of the "No" side. It should be borne in mind that the Deputy and his group have been talking about sending the EU and the IMF home with their moneys. They then said the ESM should be vetoed.

They said we should be like Greece.

Now they say we should use the ESM.

I do not say that. I have never said that.

Joe said it.

The Taoiseach should not confuse me with others on these benches.

Are you the leader of the group?

Through the Chair, please. We are over time.

We never say that.

It is too late for that.

It is a lost cause.

The Deputy should stop making up our argument.

The Deputy should read Joe's script again.

They have said it will be all right on the night. They have suggested we will get plenty of money from the ESM at unknown rates of interest.

We did not say that.

Deputy Adams refuses to explain how that can be done. There is no answer to that question.

We did not say that.

The Deputies opposite should stop shouting people down.

They are like Jedward.

The Russian grannies.

As Deputy Boyd Barrett is aware, the ESM treaty is a separate treaty from the fiscal stability treaty.

The Taoiseach said we have to be able to access it.

It will be the subject of a full discussion in this House. The Deputy can contribute in his own way to that discussion. As I have said, Ireland contributes €1.2 billion to this mechanism, or less than 2% of the total. We are represented on the board.

It is available for use for any country that might have a requirement to draw from it, a fact that has been confirmed in this fiscal stability treaty debate by the chairman of the independent Referendum Commission, who, as I said, is absolutely above reproach in this matter.

Shame the devil and tell the truth.

Deputy Boyd Barrett does not accept his word, neither does Deputy Adams. He puts forward these falsehoods all over this country, on posters in his name, which he knows are hypocritical and untruthful, to say the least.

He is only confusing Finian.

Finian is more confused now than when he came in.