As the mum of four young children, I won’t be thinking about myself when I go into the ballot box on Thursday. I will be thinking about how I can give my kids the best shot for the future. I’ll be thinking about the kind of Ireland I want them to grow up in. An Ireland where they can expect to find work and raise their own families. Voting Yes on Thursday won’t solve all our problems, but it will be a key step along the way, as we rebuild a working Ireland.

My children are all still at school, but many of my friends and family have older kids. Some of them are out of work. Others have emigrated. The only way we can turn around this situation is to ensure the right conditions are in place for jobs growth. By voting Yes this week, we will give certainty to international investors thinking about coming here to create jobs. Thousands of jobs have been announced in recent months by companies like Apple, Cisco, HP, Mylan, Sky and Mastercard. If we want to continue to attract this kind of inward investment, we need to send out a message of stability and certainty by voting Yes on Thursday.

The previous Government made reckless economic decisions that we are all paying for. That our children will pay for. The Stability Treaty will ensure future governments stick to sensible budget rules. It will allow for our own Fiscal Advisory Council to have an oversight role, to keep a check on the choices governments make. And by gradually reducing our debt levels, we will be able to spend more of our taxes on public services, like schools and hospitals. It’ll also be good for the economy, growth and jobs.

Finally, and crucially, voting Yes to the Stability Treaty will ensure we have access to the ESM, Europe’s new permanent emergency fund, should we ever need it. We need to borrow about €18 billion to run the country in 2014, when our current funding runs out. Those opposing the Treaty cannot explain where we would get this money if we vote No. Why we would we want to opt for this kind of uncertainty?

We are all facing a very important decision this week. I am encouraging everyone to take the right decision for the future of this country. For investment, for stability, and for recovery, I am voting Yes on May 31st.