Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the difficulty in understanding every detail of the transaction because it was quite complex. There were probably simpler ways of doing it but we were not free agents in making the arrangements. If one looks at it in its totality, the European Central Bank, ECB, provides emergency liquidity assistance, ELA, funding to IBRC - formerly Anglo Irish Bank and the Irish Nationwide Building Society. That money had to be paid back because some of it was underpinned by a promissory note. The first repayment is the payment back of money to IBRC which is European Central Bank money. The bond is being repo'd by Bank of Ireland - if the shareholders agree to the deal, and there is no indication they will not. At the shareholders' meeting following that, the bond will be repo'd, in other words, effectively turned into cash, but that will be done with ECB money as well, because the money into Bank of Ireland is coming through the liquidity window, which is going into the Irish banking system anyway so that is ECB money as well. The money which we accessed for bridging finance from NAMA was money which is due to be repaid to the ECB for the loans it gave to NAMA to acquire the impaired assets in the bank. Again, it is ECB money that is providing the bridge. What will happen is that when the circle is completed and the shareholders give their consent, which is my expectation, the NAMA funds will be restored and NAMA will do what it intended to do last month, namely, it will repay another portion of what it owes to the ECB. It has already paid €1.9 billion back last year and it will continue to repay in accordance with its schedule. There are three different involvements of the ECB. It is a good deal for Ireland. There is no doubt about it but it is only one step. I do not wish to exaggerate it and I did not when I presented it originally.

See this speech in context