Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----and there are still more revelations to come about what happened at the time. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the recent revelations from the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Patrick Honohan, which confirmed the long-held view of most of the population that Ireland had been coerced into maintaining a full, wide-ranging guarantee of all deposits and bonds in 2010. The threat was explicit: continue to implement the full guarantee or face bankruptcy. Apparently, it was made directly to the late Brian Lenihan. We also know that it was not only a threat. I refer to the letter from Jean-Claude Trichet allegedly instructing us to assume the debts of Anglo Irish Bank in 2008. On whose behalf was the European Central Bank acting in 2008? Was it in the interests of European citizens generally or on behalf of the French, German and United Kingdom banks? I do not need the Minister of State to answer that question because it is in plain view that they were acting in the interests of the banks.

As a result of the deeply tragic, grossly undemocratic and virtually criminal sequence of events, the population of this country, who make up 1% of the population of the eurozone, has had to shoulder 42% of the cost of the entire banking crisis, almost €9,000 per head of the population, compared to just €192 per person in other European countries, which is less than the cost of an average water bill for a single person. We are spending €9 billion per annum in servicing the debt. I accept that it is not all banking debt but includes other debts accumulated by virtue of the fact that we had to borrow. It is, however, a very large amount of money which is equivalent to the entire education budget.

I was having my breakfast one Sunday morning when I heard the Minister of State being interviewed on what I believe was the Marian Finucane radio show. I nearly choked on my rashers and sausages when I heard him say we had had €40 billion of debt written off. Will he, please, tell me where it was written off because if we had done this, we would not be in the trouble we are in?

I have asked by way of parliamentary questions to the Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, about the former Anglo Irish Bank debt that was then the promissory note that is now sovereign debt-----

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