Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland will exit from the troika programme without a precautionary credit line on 15 December. This Government has worked tirelessly to pave the way for a full return to funding from financial markets. Our ultimate objective is to exit the troika programme and regain our economic sovereignty. This will be achieved. Some of the debate over the course of last night and again tonight, has attempted to suggest that this Government has not made any attempt to alleviate the burden of the banking debt on the Irish taxpayer. That is not the case.

The Government has fought hard to ensure that the unfair burden of this debt, taken on by the people of Ireland, has been at the top of the agenda in our discussions with our European and international partners. It has been through this tireless pursuit that the Government has managed to achieve so many of the agreements that have delivered real savings and improvements for the taxpayer; agreements such as the promissory note arrangement, the reduction in the interest rates on our programme borrowings and the extension of maturities on our European Financial Stability Facility, EFSF, and European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, EFSM, loans.

Some Members have suggested that the Government did not push hard enough in the February agreement on the promissory notes but reaching such a solution was not easy.

This solution took months of tough negotiations both at ministerial and official level. Every opportunity was taken by this Government to place the matter at the top of the agenda to alleviate the unfair burden imposed by the promissory notes.

It was clear to the Government in conducting these discussions that a write-off from our obligation to repay these debts was never a realistic possibility. The agreement reached represents the culmination of months of hard work and tough negotiations. We are certain that it represents the best deal that was achievable. This view is shared by many market commentators.

I would also like to address a comment made by Deputy Fleming last night. It was suggested that when the arrangements were entered into in February, this was the first time that the debt associated with the promissory notes was copper-fastened on the backs of the Irish people. This is a fantastical statement. The reality is that the commitments entered into by the Fianna Fáil-led Government through the promissory notes were immediately recorded onto the general Government debt of the State when they were issued in 2010 and became an obligation of the Irish State at that time. The burden this commitment placed on the Irish taxpayer was something that this Government had to address as soon as we took office.

The markets reacted positively to the restructuring and we witnessed an immediate decline in bond yields. Bonds yields are now as low as 3.5% on ten year bonds, enabling the State, banks and businesses to reduce their cost of borrowings. This has helped restore our economy and create jobs. The employment figures published yesterday showed that 58,000 new jobs were created in the State this year. Unemployment has fallen to 12.8%, the lowest figure since 2009. Our policies are beginning to show their positive effects on the economy.

This motion would erase all the good work that has been done this year. Despite comments to the contrary, the simple fact is that a cessation of payment of interest on sovereign bonds is considered a default. It would undoubtedly bring with it substantial threats to our international reputation, a reputation which has taken an extraordinary amount of work to repair since we took office two-and-a-half years ago

Co-operation with our European partners has been instrumental in achieving the turnaround in the economy that we are finally seeing. Unemployment is down, consumer confidence is up and the cost of borrowing has been reduced. We have met all the targets set by the troika and successfully exited the programme. We will continue to work to get the best financing deal possible for Ireland. We believe in this approach. It has worked. It continues to work and it has put us back on the right track. Let us stay on it.

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