Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Last Friday the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach said they sensed a new mood across the European Union following the "Yes" vote in the referendum in this state. The Taoiseach made it clear that this new mood would make a deal on our unsustainable banking debt burden a reality. No sooner were those words from his mouth than the German Finance Minister, Mr. Schäuble, said his interpretation of the "Yes" vote was that it was an endorsement of current European Union policy. There was no evidence of a new mood, rather cold water was publicly thrown on the Taoiseach's claim that a deal could be done on our banking debt.

Will the Tánaiste clarify what he meant when he spoke about this new mood? Today's newspaper headlines are dominated by the strong demands by the Spanish Government. The Government in Madrid is not behind the door in saying publicly that if its banking debt burden is not shared or some assistance provided in that respect, it may herald serious difficulties for the euro. The Taoiseach stunned this Chamber yesterday with his blank refusal to set out exactly what he was seeking from our European counterparts with this new mood. Will the Tánaiste shed some light on this? I assume the Taoiseach has at least told him what he said to Angela and what she said back to him. We would appreciate it if the Tánaiste shared that information with the House.

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