Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

What does the Taoiseach know about the reports that certain EU leaders have reservations or difficulties about the far-reaching pact that has been arrived at between EU countries? It was reported overnight that the Dutch, Belgian and Hungarian Governments are in difficulty on this matter. The Czech Government has said we are starting from "a blank sheet of paper". The issue is that the bar has been set high by those who have decided a new treaty must be arrived at within three months. The dangerous vacuum that has been created can only add to the uncertainty in the marketplace and undermine confidence in the capacity of the Union to sort this out in a comprehensive and resolute way. Has the deal fallen at the first hurdle? I would like to repeat a question I asked the Taoiseach yesterday. Did the Government undertake an economic impact assessment of the commitments made in this political agreement? I refer, for example, to the 60% debt criterion, the 0.5% structural deficit of nominal GDP and the one twentieth rule.

Economists now say there is no real basis for these figures which are more or less plucked out of the air and are entirely arbitrary. We need to be extremely clear and frank about this. Are we putting arbitrary figures into legislation or into our Constitution? We must determine all of that.

Was any economic impact assessment undertaken by the Department of Finance or the Government in advance of the summit? My understanding, from the Taoiseach's replies to me yesterday, is there was not. Did the Commission provide the leaders with any economic impact assessment of these measures?

The Taoiseach raised the issue of Irish debt and correctly pointed out that we did our bit to protect the wider eurozone at the time, in advance of the facilities and mechanisms which are now in place to deal with the broader recapitalisation of bank debt, and so on. I understand his position in regard to the promissory notes. We support an early resolution of that matter. I am surprised there was not a better response from members at the summit.

In terms of some unguaranteed senior bondholders, is the Taoiseach stating they must all be paid and that he does not envisage any write-down, for example, of the Anglo Irish Bank debt, given all that has happened after the Greek default and the decision taken about that country? I am not fully clear about this. The communiqué gives signs that Greece is an exception, a unique case.

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