Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

On the issue I raised with Deputy Gilmore regarding the question of a general provision based on lending in a situation of last resort, the European financial stabilisation mechanism, EFSM, will have a margin and the decision in that regard was made by ECOFIN in May. This is an ECOFIN-based source of funding from the 27 member states. As the Deputy is aware, there is also another facility which is specific to the eurozone. The decision on the margin was made in May and the specific terms and conditions were signed off when the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan - with a mandate from the Government - attended meetings of both eurozone and ECOFIN Ministers.

The basic point is that this is the first occasion on which the money or mechanism in question has been used for the purpose to which we are referring, namely, to provide funding for the State in the absence of the sovereign debt that is available on the markets at a far higher rate of interest.

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