Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Again, I disagree with the Deputy. When I met the Prime Minister in Downing Street, I thanked him for the bilateral loan from Britain and a number of other countries to Ireland. I did not go there specifically to seek a reduction in the interest rate on that loan. I thanked the Prime Minister for the expeditious manner in which his Government, along with Sweden and Denmark, made the bilateral loan available. We discussed the wider implications of the EU-IMF bailout deal.

I accept, as the Deputy stated, that I have particular responsibilities. The Deputy also asked if I take this matter seriously. The day after I was appointed Head of Government I attended a meeting in Brussels at which I set out in a serious fashion my priorities. I told the other leaders present that they were not in attendance as Heads of Government of 40 million, 70 million or 80 million but as equals. It is my responsibility to defend Ireland's interests in the context of the European Union. I made the point that the issue of taxation is a matter of national competence and that I would not concede on the matter of an increase in the 12.5% corporate tax rate, which, as the Deputy will be well aware, is being demanded. I accepted my responsibility and dealt with the issue in a serious manner. I am not prepared to back down from that. The IMF, OECD, European Commissioners and Ministers of Finance from other countries are in agreement with our position.

The Deputy stated that I did not take my responsibilities seriously at that first meeting. Were that the case, we would be in a different position.

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