Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 29 June 2012, the Council did decide to break the link between sovereign and bank debt. The Council did decide that Ireland would receive particular treatment because of what it called its well-performing programme. This was recognised further in public statements by the French President and the German Chancellor. The work that followed in respect of putting together the architecture for the single supervisory mechanism, the capital requirements directive IV, the approach towards banking union and the issue of recovery and resolution concluded with it being written into the decision that the possibility, as was envisaged on 29 June 2012, still applies for retrospection. The position of the Minister for Finance, on behalf of the Government, has been to set out in a clear fashion that the Government seeks an outcome that will benefit the Irish taxpayer and the Irish people and which will allow Ireland and its people to deal with the extent of our debt in a sustainable fashion.

We can certainly work towards that from a variety of points of view.

We were pleased with the outcome. Views abound in different ways in different countries. I met principals, many of whom spoke in public about the particular and specific circumstances which applied in the case of Ireland when our economic crash occurred. The tools and mechanisms have now changed following the decision taken in respect of Cyprus. I was happy to see the outcome of the Ministers for Finance, as endorsed by the European Counsel. That gives us the opportunity to continue to negotiate creatively and imaginatively in the time ahead so that the principle of the decision of 29 June last year can be achieved and the outcome of that is a more sustainable debt position for our country.

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