Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister and his party have ample experience of negotiation, as does our party. One makes the demand, one listens to the response and continues to press for the demand and then after discussions or negotiations, one aims to meet somewhere in the middle. That is the art of negotiation. There cannot be negotiation if one does not make the demand. In this instance the demand was not made by the State for a reduced rate.

Of course, the ECB does not want us to default on senior bondholders. That is completely understandable.

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