Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

Were any of these issues, the social cost of prioritising bankers and bondholders, discussed or was the discussion all about providing confidence for bondholders?

On the question of Greece, was there any acknowledgment that the people of Greece, who are resisting the austerity measures to pay back these bankers, may have good cause or that their resistance is now forcing a discussion about burning the bondholders to some extent? With regard to any discussions with the Greek Prime Minister, did the Taoiseach continue with the line that Ireland is not Greece, when it is absolutely clear that any restructuring of the Greek debt will have beneficial consequences for us. We should support the Greek people in opposing austerity. However, I understand from the Taoiseach's response that he was insisting that the Greek people pass a further austerity budget to protect the bondholders.

With regard to the Taoiseach's comments on the Gaza flotilla, was there any discussion of what was being discussed openly in the Greek papers in the past week, with regard to the IMF intervening with the Greek authorities to try and prevent some of the ships from the Gaza flotilla from leaving Greek ports? It was suggested that the IMF was threatening to withhold moneys from the IMF deal if the Greek Government allowed ships from the Gaza flotilla to leave Greece. Is that what the situation has come to and is that the level of what is going on at Council meetings?

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