Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The situation in Hong Kong was not discussed at the European Council meeting. It had not erupted in the manner it has in more recent times. I deplore that kind of activity and hope the situation can be stabilised quickly. There is no doubt that it will be discussed in the future.

On the question of finances, the banking union structure has continued to be put in place at official level and towards the end of the year the stability mechanism and banking union will be in place. It will then be a question of considering what is the best option for recapitalisation. The taxpayer put €4 billion into Bank of Ireland and received €6 billion in return and it still owns 15% of the entity. The appropriate time for it to be disposed of is a matter for consideration by the Minister for Finance and the Government in due course. The same applies to AIB. The option of deciding which entity would give the best return to the taxpayer remains. The option of being able to pursue the process of direct recapitalisation of the banks remains open and on the table, all of the elements having been completed.

In regard to the situation in Gaza, we were appalled by it all summer.

The loss of life was not acceptable under any circumstances. Ireland has consistently warned that if this was not resolved it would lead to a new outbreak of exceptional violence, which happened with loss of life, particularly on the Gaza side, following the shootings in the West Bank. The situation has stabilised somewhat, but the place is destroyed. There is an exceptional requirement for reconstruction funds to bring in material to rebuild the many thousands of dwellings and houses that have been flattened in Gaza.

The ceasefire on 26 August brought about some sense of stability, and I noticed the reaction of the people in Gaza to that. Political discussions must continue. The attitude and the political position of the different groups from Hamas to so many others is an issue that requires constant analysis because of the changing nature of what is happening there. It is unacceptable to have had a continuation of attacks from Israel into Gaza. I could never understand why one would hear comments that they were investigating incidents in which schools were hit and comments as to whether stocks of arms were held in United Nations buildings. It always struck me that the United Nations is doing a remarkable job out there and clearly those buildings should be sacrosanct for the purposes for which they are intended. How they could become places for arms to be stocked is something I could never get to grips with. The ceasefire is tenuous. It is another beginning with thousands of lives having been lost.

It is not appropriate that the acquisition of land on the West Bank and the building of very significant numbers of houses and apartments continue without restriction. The European Union and the international community must be focused on this. I note, for the attention of Deputy Joe Higgins, from the discussions which took place at the European Council that a million people have fled from Syria into southern Lebanon and a million people have moved from Syria into Jordan, and they have had all sorts of humanitarian crises in Syria. There is a civil war in effect in Libya, and we have ISIS and ISIL and the other challenging issues that apply across the greater Middle East region, including the extermination of Christian communities and the Christian population at Mosul, formerly Nineveh. Deputy Higgins will be aware that the UN Human Rights Council has appointed a panel of inquiry to examine breaches of human rights in the recent conflict, and I am sure it will find many. We support the council and its work on this. Ireland supported an investigation, and now that the panel has been established, I am not sure whether any other format will be brought forward. The position has been grossly unacceptable and we hope the tenuous ceasefire that is now in place can continue and that these people in a devastated area can have some sense of family living. It is a couple of years since I was out there, but one has to go there, as the Deputy knows himself, to see the extent of the devastation - flattened buildings, unemployed young people and the struggles they have to deal with every day under different regimes, always with the awareness that another incursion might take place. This was an issue that was raised also.

The financial position and issues with regard to repayments were raised. I note for information the approval, of which the Deputy will be aware, that has been given from our European colleagues for the early purchase of IMF loan repayments. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and his team did an excellent job here. Ireland borrowed €22.5 billion at 5% from the IMF, the most expensive portion of which is the €18.3 billion portion which is subject to the IMF's highest credit surcharge. It makes practical common sense that if we can borrow at much lower rates than applied previously, there is an opportunity to buy out the loans. Thanks be to God we can, as the rates currently available on the international markets are well below the 5% level. Our ten-year bond in Ireland is now less than 2%. By buying out the loans at a lesser charge, we can save the taxpayer approximately €1.5 billion over a five-year period. That would be a positive indicator for Europe, a very significant advance for Ireland and a very worthwhile saving for the taxpayer here due to the emergence of the country as a stronger and more competitive economic unit. We are grateful to our EU colleagues for that.

Under the terms of each of Ireland's loan agreements with the EFSF, the ESM and the three bilateral lenders - the UK, Sweden and Denmark - we were supposed to pay back those loans at the same time as making repayments on the IMF loans. However, at the meeting of 12 and 13 September, Ministers expressed broad support for Ireland's proposal, as did the bilateral lenders. For some member states, this approval is subject to the necessity of reverting to their national parliaments for parliamentary approval and authorisation. That is being done. For the EFSF loans, the Eurogroup mandated the euro working group to take this proposal forward while ECOFIN mandated the economic and financial committee to do likewise. The Minister for Finance wrote to the EFSF, the ESM and the three bilateral lenders on 19 September to formally request their agreement to our proposal to repay up to €18.3 billion of our IMF loans ahead of schedule and to the waiving of the mandatory proportionate repayment clauses set out in each of the loan documents. Once the national procedures are adopted, it will be possible for Ireland to start discussions with the IMF on the detailed arrangements for early repayment. I am sure Deputy Higgins welcomes that.

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