Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I am intrigued as to why the matter was not raised. When we ask in this House about meetings with President Obama or the Minister for Finance's meeting with the Treasury Secretary, Mr. Geithner, we are told that nobody mentioned the G word or the word "veto" in respect of the possible role played by Mr. Geithner prior to Ireland's bailout. I am very interested to discover the position of the United States Government in this regard and why, for example, it might have had a view at the time that bank bondholders should not be burnt or whether it set down at a G7 meeting that there could not be any attempt to force senior bondholders to make a contribution. This issue has been debated and analysed at length. We know, for instance, that Mr. Trichet at the ECB was of the view that no bank could be allowed to fail and that senior bondholders must not be burnt. What is intriguing is that this view was apparently supported by the United States Government. I am asking why nobody seems to want to ask this question of the American Administration and the American President. It is a perfectly fair question and it is reasonable that people in this House should ask it. Why does no member of the Government, in meeting with members of the United States Government, seek their views on it? Have our diplomats, by way of their channels of information, picked up the view of the American Administration on the issue and, if so, have they relayed it to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or Minister for Finance?

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