Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance

European Stability Mechanism (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage

5:20 pm

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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----- nail a point the Deputy and many other people have made, which is that €31 billion of Irish taxpayers' money was fried in Anglo Irish Bank, as there was not. That is mythology. The replacement was Government paper, which is held by the Central Bank. It is holding €28 billion and has the piece from Bank of Ireland that can go on the market straight away. It would be obliged to do some restructuring with the other stuff, were it to sell it. However, that also can be done and the NTMA would do that. However, the point is that netting out, that money now is available at approximately 1%. The charge on it at present is slightly less than 1%. Consequently, it is a myth to state that the way things have worked out at the end is that Anglo Irish Bank cost the Irish taxpayer €30 billion, as it did not.