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

This is the issue that when every secured creditor is repaid by the liquidators the residue will go to the unsecured creditors. And there is a hierarchy of unsecured creditors with subordinate bondholders towards the end of the line and if the surplus is sufficiently large some subordinate bondholders may benefit from the proceeds of the liquidation. Under law, as it stands at the moment, that is the position but it hasn’t come to the point yet where this arises as an imminent threat and we’re still considering in the Department how we will deal with this issue and we’re still considering, and I’m aware of Governor Honohan’s advice and I have spoken to him about it, and we’ll take his advice into account, but I have to act in accordance with law and I’m exploring the possibility of not paying them in accordance with law. But if, in accordance with law, I have to pay them then I won’t be doing it but the liquidator has to act legally as well. So it’s still an open question.