Professor Patrick Honohan:

This is a budgetary matter. The Government hopes to get back the money it has advanced as the banks stabilise, but it will never get some of it back. It will never get it back because different loans have been written down in different ways. If the Government wants to adopt this approach and lower certain loans by a certain amount, then it has to decide that is what the money is for, but that will eat into its other ability to spend. It is entirely a matter for the Government.