Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)

Thank you.

In his summing up in the House a few minutes ago and when talking about not being able to burden share with the Anglo Irish Bank bondholders the Minister stated that when this was done in Greece, it caused a run on some European banks. Does he accept that all that happened was that the markets factored in normal trading losses? That is exactly what would happen if we applied the same at the very least to the unguaranteed senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank. Were we to see this write-down on those who hold the bonds, all that would happen is that they would not receive this super profit which it is being forecast they will receive. The situation in Greece in respect of senior bondholders not only tells us we should not cover the Anglo Irish Bank bondholders, it actually provides the exact template for what we should do.

The reason I am voting against this Bill is not that I do not understand the serious cash flow benefits that it will bring, rather I am voting against it because the entire euro approach is failing and tearing the eurozone apart. The evidence for this view is mounting. While I understand the reason the Minister is pushing through the legislation - to reap its cash-flow benefits - does he believe it is a step in the right direction or that this approach of solving a debt problem by acquiring further debt is working? On the same issue, does he support large-scale quantitative easing in the eurozone? Jean-Claude Trichet has called for such an approach and virtually all the economic evidence indicates it would be a sensible and necessary part of any solution.

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