Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his response. In an effort to deal with the fallout following last week's comments by the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, concerning Ireland possibly requiring a second bailout, we were reassured by the Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach and other Ministers that Ireland was fully funded to the end of 2013 and into the beginning of 2014 under all circumstances. However, in a reply to the Dáil last week repeated today, the Minister stated that we were funded into the second half of 2013, which could be interpreted as meaning July 2013. It is important that we be clear and precise in our language regarding such a vital issue.

Last month's European Commission update report on the bailout showed that Ireland would require €3.4 billion from the markets in 2012 and €14 billion from the markets to get to the end of 2013. The IMF believes we will need to raise €19.3 billion from the markets and small savers by the end of 2013. Even private sector analysts such as Glas Securities believe we will need to raise €11.3 billion in 2013 alone. As the Minister knows, a bond worth approximately €12 billion will mature and need to be refinanced in the middle of January 2014.

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