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

Neither I, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, nor any other Minister met with the troika on this occasion. The post-programme surveillance is now conducted by civil servants of the Departments, as I outlined, and members of the troika. I am relating what was discussed at second hand, on the basis of briefing.

I understand the water issue arose and that the troika was briefed by officials on the new situation, but there was no contention about it. I do not know what supplementary questions the troika members asked, if any, but it was a question of briefing rather than an attempt by the troika to advance a policy position from its perspective. The main issues were the macroeconomic situation, growth in the economy, the budgetary position and the earlier repayment of IMF loans. In other words, they were the types of issue one would expect to be raised by people whose primary concern was to assess Ireland's ability to repay not only the IMF loans but also the loans from the European institutions.

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