Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Of course the question of the Shylock-like rate at which our so-called partners in solidarity have fixed the interest rates is a massive one. Is it not true that the critical issue is the tens of billions of euro in bad gambling debts that the European banks placed with Irish banks, speculators and developers? If the next meeting of EU leaders is not until June, why did the Taoiseach not insist on raising as a critical issue the need for those bond holders to take their losses? Was it not reckless or negligent in every way for him to hand something over to the finance Ministers which they, in turn, will probably lob to the next leaders' meeting in June? Why did the Taoiseach propose this would not be discussed? Was it because his colleagues in the European People's Party asked him not to raise the issue so that Chancellor Merkel would not be embarrassed in front of that element of the right-wing constituency on which she depends in Germany?

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