Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

The past week has read like a "Lanigan's Ball" farce between Chancellor Merkel and the Taoiseach. The Government has failed in its request for relief from the burden of public debt arising from recapitalisation of the banks and the honouring of promissory notes to Anglo Irish Bank. Chancellor Merkel, after the EU summit, ruled out legacy recapitalisation by the European Stability Mechanism, and German officials insist, while vowing to look at improving Ireland's EU-ECB sustainability programme, that it carries no obligation or deadline for action and no link to EU banking regulation or bank recapitalisation.

The first clarification, issued by the Chancellor on Saturday last, is meaningless, that Germany will support Ireland in achieving debt sustainability. Of course, Germany would already claim to be doing so. There is no commitment to retrospective recapitalisation of surviving Irish banks or to reducing the promissory note payments in the clarification.

The second clarification contained in the joint communiqué, issued by the Taoiseach and the Chancellor on Sunday evening, contained no retraction of the original Merkel position whatsoever. The two leaders reaffirmed the commitment of 29 June to task the euro group to "examine the situation of the Irish financial sector with a view to further improving the sustainability of the well-performing adjustment programme." They recognised that "Ireland is a special case", but no firm commitment to do anything except to examine the Irish financial sector was included. Unbelievably, yesterday another German official, Mr. Steffen Seibert stated that Ireland does not have "special status"; it has something called "special circumstances".

As I stated, if the situation were not so serious these exchanges would be in the nature of a "Lanigan's Ball" type farce. It is quite clear that Merkel's clarifications are all plámas chun dalamullóg a chuir ar muintir na hÉireann. It is time to stop the repayments and to play hardball.

See this speech in context