Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last night, every voting Member of the Cypriot Parliament rejected the demands of the troika and the Eurogroup. To them I say, "Well done". Despite being a small, partitioned island with a population of just over 1 million people, approximately Munster's population, it sent out a clear signal to the effect that it would not be pushed around.

I refer the Minister to the President of Cyprus, who made a televised address to the nation. He is reported as saying that he felt blackmailed into signing up to the deal. That deal was an unprecedented assault on an EU country's sovereignty and a raid on its people's bank accounts. He claimed that he was blackmailed by the Eurogroup, of which the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, is a member. The Eurogroup has crossed the line and the Minister should have said, "Stop".

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