Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The question I want to ask is the potential impact of any deal on the legacy debt on the National Pensions Reserve Fund. For example, if there was a deal on the legacy debt involving the ESM to retrospectively recapitalise the pillar banks or the purchase of preference shares in them, will the €20.7 billion from the National Pensions Reserve Fund be returned to the fund or used to pay down debt? Some €17 billion was paid in last year. Surely, the right thing to do would be return it, if the money comes in from the ESM. It could be used for private investment and job creation in the future.

On the issue of job creation, PPPs and the 50:50 matching funds, I want to issue a word of warning. A PPP project, the wretched toll bridge on the M50, although a legacy issue, is a huge cost on the taxpayer. The N7 and N8 motorway runs through the county in which I live. I worked out the cost of that motorway to the taxpayer over 25 years and discovered it comes in at a very high cost, and then the taxpayer buys it back after the 25 years. The cost has increased because the company states that the volume of traffic is not as high as expected and the taxpayer is being called upon again. Although this is a subject for another day, I give it as an example. We need to be careful with PPPs and how we use taxpayers' money. My specific question concerns the potential impact of any deal on the legacy debt through the ESM on the National Pensions Reserve Fund?