Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

There was not a request for a debate with a vote on this. There was a legitimate request that the memorandum of understanding would be debated and that is what the Chief Whip acceded to. What is taking place today was granted in response to the request made to the Government by the Opposition Whips. We have already held a vote on the vote on the matter. It is not true to say the memorandum of understanding has not been altered. It has been altered in so far as the Deputy rightly refers to the minimum wage. There is no second NAMA and transfers of loans below €20 million are not allowed. There are significant changes in respect of the jobs initiative, which was signalled even before the discussions with the troika. Prior to the election, the troika made it perfectly clear to us that it would be willing to accommodate within the overall envelope changes in priority to give a more effective drive to create jobs and strengthen the economy. That element of the changed memorandum of understanding will be announced on Tuesday. I hope there will be a relevant discussion on the memorandum, which was granted in response to the request that was made.

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