Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

As the Taoiseach knows, in February last, all of our European partners agreed to change our financial support package to make it more sustainable. This was officially confirmed at the eurozone summit that the Taoiseach attended just over three months ago. Since then there has been no progress, and things have actually been going backwards. The euro crisis is getting worse by the week. In our case, the only thing that has changed is that we have given up looking for better terms on all the funds.

On Monday, senior sources in the office of President Sarkozy expressed amazement that the Taoiseach has yet to go to Paris to discuss the interest rate. Incredibly, the Taoiseach's own office refused to confirm that he had even spoken to President Sarkozy on the phone. Since the election, he has held a bilateral meeting with only one European leader involved in our funding package, the UK Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron; yet he refused even to ask him about reducing the interest rate. What has happened to the pledge the Taoiseach made days before the election to use his contacts in Europe to arrange a great rush of meetings with European leaders? Finance Ministers have failed to reach agreement on our interest rate, and it is not even on the agenda for Sunday's emergency meeting. Will the Taoiseach end his hands-off policy and arrange to meet face-to-face the leaders who are standing in the way of delivering the better terms everyone agrees are required?

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