Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are many things Sinn Féin can censor but it cannot censor the Dáil record. It is here for all time. Deputy Adams's party was an enthusiast for tying the bank debt to the sovereign in 2008. The Government has been working since we came into office to separate it. It is not easy. There are different elements to it. We have secured an agreement at European level on the separation of bank and sovereign debt. We had to renegotiate the terms of the promissory note and we have succeeded in doing this. There is some difficulty in understanding some of the basics. If I offer Deputy Adams €1,000 which must be paid in March and I offer him another €1,000 which must be paid in 34 and a half years' time, which €1,000 will he take? By any standards the agreement secured is to the benefit of the Irish taxpayer and, as Deputy Michael McGrath has acknowledged, it will ease the burden on the taxpayer.

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