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

The Taoiseach let it slip in the Dáil the last time this issue arose that he had been taking an active interest in the Burmese mobile telecommunications situation during the Davos forum. He did not have time to follow up on that matter in the House, but will he explain why he was having discussions on this issue? Were they entirely coincidental or was he particularly interested in the Burmese situation?

On the Taoiseach's meetings with Ms Lagarde, she and the IMF have been calling for an easing of current policies within the EU, including further debt relief for Ireland, Portugal and others. Did the Taoiseach discuss these issues with her in Davos and Dublin? Does he support those calls? There is a sense from within the IMF, added to by President Barroso more recently, that the current policies emanating from Europe are too one-dimensional and that the focus on balancing the books alone and no other strand is damaging European economies. Our retail sales fell by 2% in the past month. The IMF has asked the UK to pull back on its deficit targets because the latter is going too quickly.

In the context of holding the EU Presidency, is the Taoiseach pushing for policy initiatives similar to those advocated by Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF? Does he agree with her? Does he support her call and will he be doing anything in the remaining period of the Irish Presidency to advance the issue?

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