Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

ECOFIN Briefings: Minister for Finance

6:30 pm

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

Very often the IMF produces commentaries on programme countries, but it has never written off debt anywhere. The IMF programme in Greece runs until May 2016 and, if it wants to help Greece, it can reconstruct its programme for it. Let us talk straight. European countries have supported Greece. Ireland has supported it in a small way because this is also a programme country. There were faults in the programme which were identified. Over three programmes, attempts were made to correct them. However, it is a fallacy to say all the of fault lies with the creditor nations and that no fault lies with Greece. The Deputy probably knows what the situation is in Greece. If the Greek people had paid their taxes, they would not be faced with the same humanitarian crisis.

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