Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There were two separate decisions. There is speculation in the media that there was some kind of quid pro quo, but that was not the case. They were two separate decisions that were made on their merits. I am of the view, as the banks move towards profitability, that it is about time they pony up something for the Exchequer. That is the reason the levy is in, because the alternative is to take another €150 million off hard-pressed taxpayers. With the banks' overall balance sheet, they are in a position that they can now afford it. We are taking something out, but it will be a while before taxation of bank profits provides any yield to the Exchequer because they will be writing off their losses. As Deputy O'Donnell points out, it is a timing issue. In due course, they will pay.

There is also another issue that is not about using tax credits from historic losses to write off against banks' profits. The other issue is the use of the credits as core tier one capital. They may as well cash in reasonably quickly on a different timeline, if the credits can no longer be used for core tier one capital. Therefore, there are two reasons for the timing. By removing the restriction, we allow the banks to make the best decisions on when and how much of the historic losses are written off. That is all that is involved.