Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

When this issue was raised on the Order of Business yesterday, I made the point, one on which I agreed with the Taoiseach, that this is a matter of national interest. How this country deals with the crisis in Greece, the contribution we are making to the European assistance being provided to Greece, what is happening in Greece and what happens with the euro have serious consequences for all of us.

We initially asked the Taoiseach when the legislation would be brought in, but he was not able to tell us yesterday other than to say that the Government had not yet approved it. I understand from our own Whip that all Whips were informed yesterday evening that it will be three weeks before it is brought before the House. We asked yesterday for an opportunity to discuss the issue in the House, so that the Minister for Finance could set out the position and that we could respond to it. Deputy Burton has been asking for much more information than that provided to date since the announcement last week of assistance for Greece.

There is a meeting of government leaders tomorrow to discuss these issues. One of the issues to be considered at that meeting is that an independent European rating agency should be established. At the moment, we are in the hands of three ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch. These are three private companies that have the power, through their ratings, to decide the future and the fortunes of national economies.

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