Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Deputy has a very warped interpretation of the facts and I do not need him to put words in my mouth. The decision with regard to dealing with preferred creditor status by the Ministers for Finance at their meeting in Luxembourg is to the benefit of every country in Europe, not just Ireland, because people who invest in a country generally buy bonds. We did not want a situation where people investing in this country would find themselves in a long queue if anything were to go wrong. From that point of view, the abolition of preferred creditor status is a positive step taken by the European Ministers of Finance in respect of all the countries of Europe. The Deputy's interpretation of that is as far out as Lambay or beyond.

There was quite a detailed discussion on Greece and the importance of the vote in the Greek Parliament which takes place this week, both in respect of the conditions that may apply and the range of what must be done. There were quite a number of opinions expressed in respect of what is happening in the Greek situation. A number of leaders spoke to Prime Minister Papandreou about the tax structure that exists in Greece and about the opportunities that exist for reform and the scale of what he and his country now face.

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