Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

At the outset, I apologise to the House and to the Minister for not being present at the beginning of Question Time. I was attending the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform meeting with representatives of Ulster Bank and was not aware the time set for Question Time had changed.

I thank the Minister for his response to this priority question and wish the Minister well in the detailed negotiations that will commence on Monday on foot of last week's summit statement. I believe the statement and what hopefully will flow from it to be highly significant for Ireland and this could be extremely helpful in respect of the public finances and Ireland's debt sustainability. Moreover, it has the potential to make easier the fiscal adjustment. The cost of servicing the national debt has grown significantly in recent years and will continue to increase as the stockpile of debt continues to grow. However, if it is possible to secure a better deal in respect of bank debt, it could have highly positive implications. I note the Minister has ruled out the possibility of a deal making any difference to the forthcoming budget next December. However, if the negotiations conclude reasonably quickly and if Ireland secures an overall deal, we may end up with a significantly reduced interest bill in 2013, which would make the budget arithmetic easier. In that context, why is the Minister ruling out the possibility of there being any benefit in respect of the next budget? As the negotiations on this deal are only beginning now, a conclusion could well be reached before the end of the year that could work its way into the budget arithmetic.

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