Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In respect of telecommunications and Myanmar, I had a visit from a company interested in Irish potential in the area. I had an engagement with it about the possibilities it sees for Irish involvement in trading with a country that has enormous resources and has distinct possibilities for a trading nation such as this country. I have never been there. I discussed the matter briefly with a member of one of the international telecommunications companies in Davos, who attended the IDA-sponsored function where there were 40 chief executives of international companies. In Myanmar, less than 2 million people have had access to mobile communications out of a population of 60 million. A quantum leap will be involved in going from no communications to all the modern methods of communication. In many ways it will be a social experiment for a people who have had centuries of limited capacity to connect around the world.

I and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, met Christine Lagarde, the director of the IMF, and we discussed the issues of the day, namely, the promissory notes, debt reduction and the ongoing programme with this country of troika visits, including the IMF. We also referred to the decision of the European Council of 29 June 2012 to break the link between the sovereign and bank debt, the importance of the single supervisory mechanism being set up by the Ministers and approved by the European Council, with the architecture to be available by June of this year and to take effect on 1 March 2014. We discussed the question of banking union and the impact that could have on fractured systems throughout Europe which are very important for all the economies. It is clear that will be a test of credibility for the European Council meeting in June of this year, which is now being pursued by us as Presidency in respect of resolution and the issues that will have to be decided in that regard.

On whether I share the director’s view, the meeting was in advance of the promissory notes and we made the point about the difficulties it was causing for this country’s economy and people. We have already availed of a one-year extension. We have clearly set out our plan to have our deficit below 3% by 2015 and we intend to stick to that target. The IMF has in general been most supportive of this country’s claims for dealing with debt levels and the challenges we have and will face in the future. In that sense, it was a general discussion about European issues - our incoming Presidency; the priorities for us of growth, stability and jobs; the co-operation of the IMF in seeking to get the agreement and consent of our European colleagues for debt reduction in the extension of maturities, which has now happened; the question of the promissory notes; the structure of banking union; and how it might be possible to construct a situation where we could get money back for taxpayers arising from the recapitalisation this country was required to make a number of years ago.

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