Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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I thank the Chairman and Deputy Michael McGrath for allowing me to speak first.

As a member of the Opposition, I am either detached or semi-detached from the Irish Presidency, but it appears the Minister and his officials did an excellent job during the Presidency, even if one or two things did not go exactly as they may have hoped. The Minister, in particular, has been operating in a highly constrained environment in ECOFIN given the domestic politics at play in Germany, where a general election is imminent. I heard repeatedly from officials in Brussels that the Minister and his officials did a great job. Those with whom I spoke were very impressed with the Irish team at a political and an official level. I wish to acknowledge this publicly.

On the bank resolution mechanism, the technical note from the European Union is dense and complicated. I ask the Minister to request that his officials prepare for the joint committee a note explaining exactly how a resolution would proceed. Phase one involves a bail-in of 8%, phase two involves a 5% bail-in, and so forth. It would be useful if the Department provided one or two worked examples of a theoretical bank entering a resolution process, as it would help us to understand this complicated mechanism.

Before the most recent ECOFIN meeting, I understand the Minister's position was that he would seek to have small depositors take precedence over senior bondholders. I agree with that position, although the Minister will have to forgive me if I understood his position incorrectly. I was not able to figure out from the technical note whether this objective was achieved. Was it achieved, or will normal depositors and senior bondholders continue to be placed on an equal legal footing?