Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree that this country has not received substantial support from the European Union during the years. When the people made a clear, strong and welcome decision on the fiscal stability treaty, this was followed shortly thereafter by the strongest delegation from the European Investment Bank that had ever come here, with a clear willingness to commit to further investment through that source.

I will not decry the appointment of a Minister of Finance by any Prime Minister elsewhere in Europe. There are 27 involved and there is a statement from three of them. I return to the point that I believe in the political system being able to deliver. As I said to Deputy Micheál Martin, if there has been a fault on the part of the European Union in respect of its citizens - next year is the year of the citizen - it has been the failure to demonstrate the capacity to follow through and implement decisions made. The decision of 29 June was clear and unequivocal in two respects - in the protection of the euro and the eurozone and the direct recapitalisation of banks, therefore breaking the link between sovereign debt and bank debt, and second, in improving Ireland's debt sustainability to give equal treatment where others received a deal. On these two issues, the Minister for Finance, officials and I, at Heads of Government level, will follow through resolutely and diligently. It is too important to have Heads of Government make a clear and unequivocal decision and not to have it implemented. Of course, when politicians begin to negotiate on these issues, we have different points of view. However, there is no resiling and no going back from the clarity of the decision to break the link and improve Ireland's debt sustainability. That is where we will continue to make our efforts. As Commissioner Rehn pointed out, he would like to have the issue dealt with by the end of October. The Minister for Finance has made the point that, realistically, that is not achievable and that it is important to get the right deal. In that sense, we continue to return to the foundation stone, namely, the clarity of the decision of 29 June made by the Heads of Government. That is what is important and it needs to be implemented.

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