Ms Nessa Ní Chasaide:

There is no easy answer to the question on the levels of debt. We are guided by civil society groups on the ground in the countries in question for their analysis and judgment on this because there are two levels of concerns. There is concern around unsustainable or unpayable debts in certain countries but also concern about what we would call illegitimate debts, or unjust debts, which have been contracted on a dubious basis. For example, in the case of Granada, which my colleague Ms Mórina O'Neill raised, it has been identified in recent research that at least between 50% to 67% of its sovereign debt is required to be written down if it is to get back on a sustainable debt footing. We would view that as a conservative estimate.

In terms of the IFC case and whether there has been justice in relation to the killings that have occurred, the groups on the ground who are advocating on this issue, would be say the answer to that question is "No". Part of this is due to the fact that there seems to be an extremely opaque relationship between the government, the corporation in question, security firms that are hired by the corporation and the local police. It is an extremely opaque situation and one which the Dinant corporation needs to clarify in respect of its involvement with a range of actors in the region in which it is working.

On the international tax issue, we acknowledge this is a multilateral problem, not least because of the criticism Ireland is experiencing internationally on this question, and that provides more of a basis for the need for proactive action at a national level. That is why we do not see any reason our Minister for Finance does not more actively support greater financial transparency of multinational companies operating out of Ireland.