Good one thejournal. Many thanks.

I asked this question of my local Labour TD. I was wondering if anyone else could advise on a concern I have.

Does this treaty guarantee good housekeeping for all or will the 12/17 rule mean that bailout economies sign up to a punitive fines system while Germany and France carry on overspending as they have in the past?

Conor Mulvagh to Kevin Humphreys TD (via facebook):

Hi Kevin,

I’m concerned about something which has been prominent in Labour’s treaty campaign and I consider to be a misrepresentation of the facts. It was stated by Emer Costello MEP in an official labour party leaflet I received and again today by an Tánaiste on morning Ireland that this treaty will guarantee ‘good housekeeping for ALL the members of the Eurozone.’ However, the treaty clearly states that only 12 of the 17 members must ratify this treaty thus signing up to the fines system designed to reinforce the Maastricht rules.

Can you tell me what will happen in the event (which is not beyond the realm of possibility at this point) that the German Bundestag don’t sign up to this treaty and Mr Hollande in France does the same. Is it possible that peripheral ‘economically quarantined’ states of the Eurozone will sign up to the fines system in this treaty but that the core of the Eurozone will be free to breach the Maastricht rules yet again in pursuit of a growth agenda as they have done in the past.

In growth, as in austerity, Ireland has been a model member of the Eurozone and we only went outside the Maastricht criteria in 2008 in circumstances that could only be described as unprecedented and exceptional. Germany and France meanwhile have frequently run roughshod over agreed European budget rules long before the economic crisis.

The table here illustrates nicely my point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stability_and_Growth_Pact#Member_states_by_SGP_criteria.

The same point has also been made in Der Spiegel and this is a serious issue in Germany, but not here: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-ticking-euro-bomb-how-the-euro-zone-ignored-its-own-rules-a-790333.html

I foresee a Europe where none of this will change through our ratification of the treaty. Can you please clarify your party’s message that this treaty will guarantee ‘good housekeeping for ALL’ in light of the above.

Many thanks in advance,

Conor Mulvagh