Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am no wiser about the questions I asked. It is time for a little more transparency in terms of what is being asked. People are interested. They have been hearing for some time that a deal is certainly on the cards and will be concluded but no one has any idea what kind of deal is being discussed. Ultimately, when a deal arrives, will it be the real deal the Taoiseach was looking for or will it be some watered down deal that emerges from the discussions with the European Central Bank? In essence, can the Taoiseach confirm that the European Central Bank is up for separating bank debt from sovereign debt? Is it committed to the game-changer decision, so described by the Tánaiste following the June summit last year? I would appreciate if the Taoiseach could elaborate.

Some one and a half years ago or perhaps less I put it to the House and I wrote to the Taoiseach suggesting that we join up. I suggested that we would be willing to support the Government and that all sides of the House, as the Oireachtas, could communicate a unified message to Europe in terms of the need for such restructuring. On that occasion the Taoiseach declined and suggested that perhaps the strands of opinion in the House were such that they would not command a uniformed response or position. I put it to the Taoiseach that I offered that in a constructive spirit in terms of the Oireachtas making a clear statement supporting the need for restructuring. I asked about the impact and the Taoiseach gave some indication in terms of the sustainability of our debt and programme. Does the Taoiseach envisage an impact of the deal in practical terms and in terms of the actual figures to be brought forward by the Minister for Finance in next year's budget? Some people have suggested that the deal on the table last week could have realised €1 billion in savings and that such would be the impact on the budgetary figures next year. Will the Taoiseach confirm that or will he give his ball-park figure for what a deal could mean in practical terms for the people and their household day-to-day activities in terms of budgeting, savings, cutbacks and so forth?

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