Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is true that we are looking for solutions to retroactively get a better deal for the Irish taxpayer for the cost of appalling policy and banking mistakes in this country. The ESM does not exist to solve all problems, regardless of the conditions. It is up to the Cypriot Government to make the case and it is then up to member states within the eurozone to consider the case. The ESM is not necessarily the answer to all problems. A case must be made and a case must be won in order for the purpose for which the ESM was set up to be used in terms of recapitalising banks. Clearly, that case has not been made and won in the case of Cyprus. Instead, what has been decided and supported by the new government there is that it would be able to borrow €10 billion on the back of being able to raise €6.8 billion. It had signed up to a plan to do that, which involved taxation and a levy on deposits which people have now rejected. It must now seek an alternative to that and it is looking to the country that is heavily involved in its banking system as a potential funder to do that, and it is also looking at other domestic ways in which it can raise money. Let us give it some time to do that and let us give assistance if and where possible in terms of policy options because we have explored practically every policy option in terms of reducing the impact of bank debt on taxpayers.

As much as the Deputy would like to think so, it is not as straightforward as making the case that because the ESM exists and is set up for the right purposes that there is some kind of simplistic solution to shift bank debt into the ESM, regardless of the complexity of the debt.

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