Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

We continue to be engaged in talks with the troika to explore possible ways to re-engineer the promissory notes and find a less expensive solution for the people by, for example, replacing them with other financial instruments with long maturity. The discussions are under way and we continue with that work. The Minister for Social Protection made it very clear in her interview that negotiations on the treaty and the holding of the treaty referendum are not linked. They are separate processes and we will continue with the process until we get a satisfactory outcome for the people.

With regard to the treaty, it should be ratified so there will be stability in the euro and we will get the investment in Europe, and particularly Ireland, to create jobs to bring about economic growth that will help us get out of the economic difficulty we found ourselves in and out of the EU-IMF programme, which the Government wants out of as quickly as possible.

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