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

No, but everyone is on-side now. It's European policy and it's a matter of European law now to ... in future problems with banks across the banking union, bank ... senior bondholders will be bailed in. So I'm consistent and it's my policy position and we've succeeded in making it European law.

On the Ajai Chopra statement, first of all, I'd like to say that he was certainly, in my view, one of the most helpful members of the troika. He was ... he was very, very assiduous in trying to help Ireland and very good and I've great admiration for him. His presentation of the IMF having a different view from the European Central Bank is correct, at staff level, but in the end of the day, the IMF executive, under pressure, in my view, from the Treasury in the United States, did not follow the policy and support Ireland for burning bondholders. And the reason wasn't fear of contagion, the reason was what's recited in Tim Geithner's autobiography, that it would affect the liquidity of the banking system in Europe. And maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong, but there was a flow out of funds from Europe and he said "Burn the bondholders: these are the people you need to put liquidity back and this will be magnified." And that was his position and he was very, very influential, as the Americans are over the IMF, and because of the dollar being a reserve currency and whatnot. So it's not academic. Things have evolved over time. It's now a matter of European law that if a bank goes bust anywhere in the eurozone, in the cascade of "bail-inable" assets, senior bondholders is ... have ... has a high rating.