Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

During his put-down of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, last week, the Taoiseach stated unequivocally that Ireland is funded until 2014 in all circumstances. Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, repeated this on a number of occasions. They both also stated that a 1% reduction in the interest rate payable on the bailout would be worth more than €400 million per year to Ireland. The Taoiseach could not have been clearer on this.

Yesterday, without warning, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, changed that scenario when he told the House that, in fact, we are not funded for 2013. Almost in the same breath he halved the projected saving we would get from an interest rate cut. Clearly following the Taoiseach's lead when he downgraded the jobs budget, the Minister then attacked others for supposedly exaggerating the importance of this issue and the figures involved, saying they are to blame for hyping it up. The fact is that this issue was hyped up by the Taoiseach, his party and his partners in government - we remember the talk of Frankfurt's way or Labour's way. That happened throughout the election and in the weeks after it. Trying to whitewash away those promises will not work.

What was made clear on these two key issues last week has now been directly and entirely undermined. Are we fully funded for 2013, as the Taoiseach said last week, or are we not, as the Minister, Deputy Noonan, said yesterday?

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