Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Has the Minister received a commitment from the European Central Bank, ECB, that it will use its powers to purchase Irish sovereign debt on the secondary markets in order to ease our passage back into the markets? Does the Minister envisage this will happen in a meaningful way? Given the downgrading of exports by the Irish Exporters Association and, as the Minister has acknowledged, the market conditions remain exceptionally turbulent, what level of borrowing does he anticipate the NAMA will be able to engage in next year, in order to ease our passage back to the markets?

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