Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I argued that we needed to renegotiate the terms of the deal and that is what we are doing. The separation of bank and sovereign debt was a landmark decision. In advance of the October summit people predicted that we would not implement the decisions to use the ESM for recapitalising banks and establish the single supervisory mechanism but we decided at the summit to proceed with these measures according to a timetable based on completing the legislative framework for the supervisory mechanism by the end of the year. The word "sustainability" has been used by several speakers. Let us remember that the objectives of the June agreement, which was restated in October and again in the joint communiqué between the Taoiseach and the German Chancellor, include improving the sustainability of Ireland's debt situation. There is only one way to interpret that objective. It means securing the best possible outcome from the point of view of the Irish taxpayer. That has to be worked out. The promissory note is the subject of negotiations with the ECB. The wider bank debt will then be addressed in the context of the ESM.

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