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

I wouldn't, no. The troika, across the table from me, and they were over every three months for three years, they were all equal partners. Sometimes, like, the ECB specialised in banking issues and funding issues whereas the Commission had an overreach and the IMF were more in the same space as the Commission with a view on most issues. Unless he's talking about the relationships when they were discussing things privately among themselves, but, certainly, in discussing with Ministers and civil servants, they didn't give the impression of being junior partners.

And in Brussels, then, where the review of programmes took place at the Eurogroup meetings, the IMF were always present, and during our period, Christine Lagarde was representing IMF. I would never her describe her as anybody's junior partner.