Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The first question I would like to ask the Minister of State concerns the separation of sovereign debt from bank debt, now that the single supervisory mechanism is in place. The Taoiseach said repeatedly that once that mechanism was in place, Ireland would apply for retrospective recapitalisation. Over two years ago the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, with the then Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, said a decision by the European Council was a game changer. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, said he would not tell anybody what he was looking for. He said he had experience of many markets and fairs and would not announce in advance what he was looking for. We have got nothing and one is tempted to say we did not ask for anything. That is one of the basic questions. Now that the mechanism is in place, has the Government applied for retrospective recapitalisation? Has it pushed the case that Ireland is in a unique position? As the Taoiseach admitted in Paris, the European Union imposed a solution on Ireland which was not imposed on other countries because of its own failings and inability at the time, at a European and eurozone level, to deal with bank resolution issues and banks that were failing.

On climate change, the Government states it recognises that afforestation can mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. Will the Minister of State acknowledge that this is an item for further discussion and that the details have to be fleshed out? Will he broadly outline the Government's approach to the climate change agenda in terms of the targets the European Union has set?

Third, with regard to the summit meeting, does the Minister of State accept that Russia is leveraging other countries' dependence on Russian oil for political purposes? This is dangerous in terms of the politics and geopolitics of Europe and energy across Europe. We have seen examples of this in the past when the pipe was turned off, and it is worrying that Russia is so cynical in its use of gas and oil reserves to advance its geopolitical agenda. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would comment on that.

In his speech, the Taoiseach described the presentation by Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, as being stark at times in terms of the challenges the eurozone faces. The Taoiseach did not elaborate on that or outline what he meant, and it would be useful if the Minister of State could indicate what the Taoiseach meant by that. How stark was the Governor and what are the implications for the wider economy that the Taoiseach spoke about?

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