Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Some Ministers are claiming the effort to secure ESM funding retrospectively for Irish banks has been damaged. What they have not done is to explain what Ireland has been seeking. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, told a Dáil committee last year that he could not see the benefit from selling our bank stakes to the ESM. Has this position changed?

During this Presidency, Ireland fulfilled its core responsibilities well. It handled the agenda it was given by President Van Rompuy and delivered the required agreements to keep most of the items on track. However, at the end of the Presidency, Europe has not returned to stability, jobs and growth, as the Taoiseach keeps claiming. Our political leaders did not try to change the agenda.

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