Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

There is a limit to burden-sharing. As I said in this House last week, there is simply no way this country, whose banks are so dependent on international investors, can unilaterally renege on senior bondholders against the wishes of the our European partners and the European institutions. This course of action has never been an option during this crisis.

It is true the State has had to inject large amounts of capital into the banks. In return, the State will own the bulk of the banking system. The use of funds in the National Pensions Reserve Fund to recapitalise the viable banks is necessary to ensure that these institutions serve the needs of the economy.

The approach to fixing the banks agreed under the joint programme will not reverse any of the Government's banking policies. In fact, the very opposite is true. The programme builds upon and intensifies the measures introduced to date. The most senior members of the international team negotiating the programme have endorsed our policies.

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