Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his response. There appears to be no end to the crisis in the eurozone. The markets do not appear convinced the new Governments in Greece and Italy will deal seriously with the problems being experienced by those countries. Elections are to be held in Spain this weekend and elections are on the horizon in Germany and France. Most people are forming the conclusion that the crisis poses an ominous threat to our economic recovery. People are now fearful that Ireland's place in the euro or, the euro as we know it, may not be as secure as we all believed it to be.

The medium-term funding of this State will need to be clearer this time next year. That would be the advice of the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA. In light of the ongoing developments in the eurozone and given the exceptionally challenging external environment, what is the latest advice of the Minister from the NTMA in regard to when Ireland is likely to return in a meaningful way to the sovereign debt markets for long term borrowing to meet this State's long-term funding needs?

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