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

The key point I put to the Taoiseach was in respect of the debt retrospection. The Taoiseach accepted in a statement made in Paris that Europe would not accept any burning of bondholders - that was the bottom line - or any bank failing. It was a European-imposed solution, not just on Ireland but also on other countries. In fact, European policy exacerbated the crisis in many respects for the first three years of the crisis. It was only the appointment of Mario Draghi and his intervention that put the euro on a different course. He was responsible for the reduction in interest rates, not anybody else, and he has been responsible for the low yields on Government bonds, not anybody else.

The Taoiseach mentioned the summit in 2012 in his reply. I vividly recall the reaction of the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach at that time. They said this was a massive deal. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, speculated that billions of euro would come back to Ireland. All of that sense of excitement at seismic deals and a huge dividend has dissipated and been reduced to the phrase "keeps open the possibility", which the Taoiseach used in his reply. That is all. At the time, however, a different sense was conveyed. When the Taoiseach met Mr. Juncker - Mr. Juncker met all Heads of State prior to his appointment, just as his predecessor did - was he asked if there would be a special deal for Ireland, along the lines of the 2012 June summit, in terms of Europe at least acknowledging that Ireland took one for the rest of the eurozone and deserves some recompense as a result? Did he discuss that with Mr. Juncker prior to his appointment?

With regard to tax, I did not ask about his involvement or that of the European Parliament. The hypocrisy stems from the fact that different countries do different things on tax and their tax offerings and Ireland was singled out in terms of the alleged situation with Apple. Our foreign direct investment, FDI, is extremely important and accounts for more than 260,000 jobs. Apple employes 4,500 people in Cork and many other companies do likewise. They also help small and medium-sized companies. When the Taoiseach engaged with Mr. Juncker on the tax question, did he put it to him, the Commission and Mr. Donald Tusk that all countries must be treated equally, including not only Ireland but also Luxembourg, the Netherlands and others, in terms of their offering on FDI, and that there should be consistent equality across the board?

The Taoiseach did not reply to my question about Ms Mogherini with regard to Ukraine. The Italians have a different perspective from other European states on Russian aggression and that has been consistent for some time. Did the Taoiseach have any discussion with her about the unacceptable aggression by Russia in Ukraine?

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