Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

Deputy Doherty has quoted the troika as stating as much to him previously but when we asked the troika at subsequent meetings it denied that it ever stated this to the Deputy. Deputy Doherty should sort out that with the troika.

I suspect the troika is right because on several occasions we raised with it the possibility not only of using the National Pensions Reserve Fund for job creation, but the possibility of using a proportion of the proceeds when State assets are sold for re-investment in projects that would generate growth and job creation. I am unsure where Deputy Doherty's quotation is coming from but that is not what the troika has said to us.

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