John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Having listened to the debate for a short while, I thought that before I was elected to this House two years ago I had a certain level of naivety in that I genuinely thought most Members of this House, regardless of the side of the House they sat on, were here for the better good. What I observed in recent weeks, and last week in particular, was somewhat of a penny-dropping exercise. I firmly believe there are some Members in this House who do not want to see Ireland progress and the people of Ireland to have a better quality of life and standard of living. It is appalling to think that public representatives who represent the citizens of Ireland here are telling people that this is not a good deal. It is political opportunism. Credit should be given where credit is due. This is not about us telling ourselves that we are fantastic. The reality is that the news delivered last week is exceptionally good, and the behaviour of the majority of Members, though not all, in opposition regarding this deal is very disappointing.

Last Thursday was a very important day for Ireland in our mission to recover from our crisis. We said goodbye to Anglo Irish Bank,the bank that brought our nation to its knees. We also said goodbye to the promissory notes,a burden that would have made the next ten years nearly impossible to face without massive social and economic consequences. Anglo Irish Bank is no more. The promissory note is no more. It will not be paid this March or any other March.

The benefit of this deal is very significant, as we build our way out of crisis and towards recovery. We will not be paying €3.1 billionin payments for the next ten years, and we will have to borrow €20 billion lessover that same period. This deal will reduce the gap between our revenue and our expenditure by €1 billion every year. According to Standard & Poor's, this deal reduced our deficit by 0.6% overnight. The repayment of the debt, with an average bond maturity of 34 years, gives us room to breathe. With that weight lifted, we will have a greater opportunity to focus on the future by growing our economy and creating jobs.

I wish to quote from three international newspapers. On the deal last week The New York Times said it was "another important milestone in Ireland's slow emergence from a banking and real estate crisis". A German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine, stated:"Ireland has won the argument over the massive costs of its bank rescue." The Financial Times stated:"Ireland has reaped a diplomatic victory that will bear immediate economic fruit."

The value of the deal in making our debt sustainable has become immediately apparent on the international bond markets. Standard & Poor's has upgraded Ireland's credit outlook to stable.Fitch has described the deal as "credit positive", but the yield on Irish bonds has fallen to its lowest rate since before the crisis hit in 2007. Our 2020 bond is now trading at a yield of less than 4%. This means that the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, which has already successfully dipped into the international money markets in recent months, will be in a much better position to source the funding we need to ensure we can fully leave our bailout programme in the next year, and wave goodbye to the troika.

Despite what some people appear to think, this deal did not come about overnight; it was the outcome of months of extensive negotiation. That negotiation took place on both a political and a Central Bank level.I commend the Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, on the excellent work he has done on behalf of the State, and the officials in the Central Bank and the Department of Finance. I commend also the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, for securing this deal for us. That work is ongoing, and I understand negotiations are now getting under way on the remainder of our legacy bank debt used to recapitalise our pillar banks.

The people of Ireland want and need toknow that this deal will have a direct impact on them. They have borne a very heavy burden as a result of the crisis, more than they morally should have borne and, in some cases, more than they can. That deal must manifest itself in the next two budgets. I urge the Minister to make it clear that this will be the case,and to point to areas where this additional funding can be allocated to ensure the people will see the dividend of this deal in their pockets.

See this speech in context