Honohan: We should ratify Fiscal Treaty

The Governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan has said Ireland should ratify the forthcoming EU Fiscal Treaty.

Speaking this evening at the annual meeting of the Irish Economic Association, he said the treaty would provide a "safer alternative" for the country.

Professor Honohan told those gathered that Europe has been "at the heart of Ireland's considerable economic progress over the last four decades."

He said that if the Government had not endorsed this Treaty, it would have resulted in the country "turning its back on European cooperation".

However, he acknowledged that the Fiscal Compact does contain a tighter set of rules on fiscal policy than in the original Stability and Growth Pact.

And he said that no simple fiscal rule would have prevented ''the risky over-dependence on bubble-related tax sources'' which led to Ireland's recent collapse.