Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

Hundreds of people have sent emails to TDs and Senators, appealing to them not to support the payment of this money today. There is massive interest among the Irish people in this. In that context, I would like the Taoiseach to tell us two things. What is the rationale for the ECB insisting we pay these unsecured bondholders today and that we pay €1.2 billion in January and a further €2.5 billion in 2012? How does the ECB define contagion? How does it define the impact this might have in Europe?

Can the Taoiseach tell us who are these bondholders? We have hedge fund speculators who have purchased these bonds from the original bondholders at a knock down price and have now benefitted from the Government's decision to allow this to be paid. If the Taoiseach cannot tell us who these bondholders are, can he please tell us what legal barrier is in the way of him sourcing this information and putting it into the public domain?

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