Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

-----the new Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, who is to take up office on 20 December. As I do not speak Spanish and he does not speak English we did not get an opportunity to discuss the fledgling peace process in the Basque country but I will be happy to raise the issue with him. When I next have an opportunity to meet him he will have been duly appointed as Spanish Prime Minister.

In respect of PSI, the issue is to remove PSI from the draft ESM facility. We take the view that such a provision would be counterproductive for a country such as Ireland, which will emerge from a programme, as it would display a lack of confidence by would-be investors in the country. What I was talking about here was not a write-down of sovereign debt but a reconstruction of the bank situation with regard to the recapitalisation, which had taken place at very high interest rates, and an attempt to get that level of bank debt into the facilities that now exist with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods, which would be of great benefit to the Irish taxpayer.

I did suggest at the meeting, if the truth be known, when Prime Minister Cameron made his comments about a specific protocol for the protection of financial services in London, that perhaps the politicians should pause and discuss whether a compromise could be reached in that political impasse. Essentially, what the British Prime Minister seemed to be saying was that he would give consent to changes in the eurozone in exchange for a return to unanimity in respect of certain matters to do with financial services in London. Obviously, that was not achieved, and the 26 countries will move on.

I am due to speak to the Prime Minister this evening. As I said before, after and during the meeting, it is important from the point of view of this country that our nearest neighbour and largest trading partner, which came to our assistance with regard to bailout moneys-----

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