Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

That is totally irrelevant to the point I am making. Mrs. Thatcher was reportedly not very happy with the result. In the present case the Irish authorities were negotiating with senior EU, ECB and IMF officials, subject of course to political direction, arbitration and approval. Principals - Heads of Government, EU Commissioners and Finance Ministers - generally hold themselves in reserve for consultation as negotiations progress. It seems to me that some criticism of the deal has been based on a misunderstanding of how negotiations are normally conducted.

Developments across Europe illustrate that Ireland is part of a wider drama across Europe, potentially relevant to financial and monetary stability in the developed world. Economists, bankers and other commentators may have an entirely different view on what it would have been right for Ireland to seek to do, for instance, concerning senior bondholders. Some of the discussion of this in recent months, both at home and abroad, has had a destabilising effect both on our situation and that of others. We urgently needed funding, while our partners urgently needed a plan for stability. We had to reach an agreement with agencies and partners that also had broader preoccupations and that had to calculate the knock-on effects of what they agreed with Ireland.

I do not believe that any alternative Irish Government could have achieved a better deal at this time, but if the next Government is subsequently able to negotiate improved terms and conditions, I wish them well. In my view, they will not be in an asylum or straitjacket, but will have to create their own margin of manoeuvre. Improving our public finances is the first step.

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