Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. When the conversation commenced - I do not propose to go into the detail on this - in terms of the general primary colour and shape of the model, that was the idea. It was never a case of money for nothing. Obviously, there are considerations that arise from that, including whether, if one thought one could get more money on the market, one go down that road or pursue that. On the other hand, while the people running the European Stability Mechanism may be brilliant at raising money on the markets, there is nothing within their experience to suggest that they could run banks, because that is not what they do. All I am saying is that we are pursuing this along the lines outlined by me at the finance committee when we last spoke about this issue, and also that there is an alternative that might be of more benefit to the Irish taxpayer. We will pursue all options, but the bottom line must be which will achieve more money for the taxpayer.

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