Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

That is not the point. This is about confidence. We are funded until the middle of next year, but it is like being in business. If one has a customer and one is not going to him or her, one can sometimes lose the customer. I have no doubt if the Minister was sitting down in the cold light of day he would prefer to be going to the bond auction next month. I have no doubt if the yield is lower the Minister will announce we are going for a bond auction, which I would welcome because we need certainty. I do not wish to be personal. Based on the policies which the Minister has implemented, the international markets are looking in great depth at the country including the €440 billion of the guarantee which they felt, on closer inspection, the State could not withstand.

The Minister initially said Anglo Irish Bank would cost €4 billion. It is now potentially €34 billion or a minimum of €30 billion.

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