Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is about making the best choice in the interests of the Irish taxpayer. I regularly discuss Ireland's economic situation with European Council counterparts and I had the opportunity at the March European Council to outline our progress to date. We have not discussed the Irish bank guarantee in recent contacts.

In regard to Greece and Greek debt, I note the meeting yesterday on this. I wrote to Alexis Tsipras in January to congratulate him on his election as Prime Minister of Greece and to wish him and his Government well. I had a short informal discussion with Prime Minister Tsipras in the margins of the February meeting of Heads of State and Government and again in the margins of the March European Council. As well as congratulating him again on his election, I indicated that I would be happy to welcome him to Ireland and to have further discussions about how we worked through and successfully emerged from our EU-IMF programme. The December European Council did not consider the question of a possible change of government in Greece or issues relating to the Greek debt situation. The informal meeting of the European Council in February received an update from the Eurogroup President on negotiations in relation to the Greek programme. While the situation in Greece was not on the agenda of the March European Council, Prime Minister Tsipras met informally with the Presidents of the European Council, Commission, ECB and Eurogroup and the leaders of Germany and France to discuss how to make progress in the discussions on Greece's economic and financial situation. All parties expressed full adherence to the Eurogroup statement of 20 February.

Ireland, together with other euro area member states, understands and empathises with the difficult situation faced by the Greek people. That is why there has been a willingness to negotiate a way forward which takes account of the realities of the situation in Greece and the political priorities of its new Government, which was elected by the people, while also respecting existing commitments. Intensive negotiations on the Greek programme have been taking place in the Eurogroup and it is in all our interests that Greece remains in the euro area. All members of the euro area, including Greece, have obligations and that is why all the parties signed up to the Eurogroup statement of 20 February, including the comprehensive list of reforms. Progress in the discussions has been slow, however, and needs to be accelerated.

As a consequence, the situation of Greece's finances is very challenging, with immediate financing needs to be addressed now. Therefore, urgent agreement of the necessary structural reforms is imperative to conclude the fifth review and release the associated disbursement. As the House is aware, repayments are due in the very near future - this week in fact. The Greek authorities are currently working with the institutions on the list of reforms. Greece has committed to making its repayments. Ireland does not support a writedown or cancellation of Greek debt. There is, of course, room for manoeuvre in terms of maturity extension and other ways to reduce the burden of debt, which we have done in Ireland, in co-operation with our European partners.

The situation in Ukraine and EU relations with Russia were discussed at the December European Council and the informal meeting of EU Heads of State and Government in February and again at the March European Council meeting. The February meeting took place on the same day that agreement was reached in Minsk on a package of measures leading to the current ceasefire. I joined with my counterparts in the European Council in welcoming this development and recognising the central role played by Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande. People will have seen the statement from Chancellor Merkel at the recent press conference with President Putin. Heads of State and Government also confirmed that decisions already taken on sanctions would remain in place. At the March European Council, we agreed that the Minsk agreement remains the best prospect for the long-term resolution of the conflict in the region. We decided that the sanctions against Russia should be clearly linked to the full implementation of the agreements and that we would keep this under close review over the coming months. We will return to the issue at next month's meeting. Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande set out their positions in their contributions to the meeting of the European Council. I did not discuss the situation in Ukraine with either leader bilaterally.

While Syria has not been on the agenda of recent European Council meetings, the March Foreign Affairs Council adopted a comprehensive regional strategy on Syria, Iraq and ISIS. This sets out the EU's political and humanitarian strategy to address the impact of this conflict and to support conditions for a political framework to end it.

In the margins of the December European Council and during a subsequent telephone conversation, I raised the issue of ECB support to the banking inquiry with ECB President Mario Draghi. I also discussed the issue with former ECB President Jean Claude Trichet. Mr. Draghi subsequently outlined the position of the ECB on his participation in the banking inquiry, which he also set out in a letter to Mr. Matt Carthy MEP in January. He stated that owing to the ECB's accountability to the European institutions and primarily to the European Parliament, the ECB is not in a position to participate in formal inquiries conducted by national parliaments. However, Mr. Draghi also confirmed that the ECB stood ready, in liaison with the Irish Parliament, to determine how best to interact on an informal basis, outside the context of the banking inquiry, as has been done with other national parliaments in the past.

I was happy following the discussion with Mr. Trichet and, as the House is now aware, Mr. Trichet subsequently accepted an invitation to participate in an event in Dublin organised by the Institute for International and European Affairs, which took place in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham on Thursday, 30 April. Following a presentation, Mr. Trichet responded to a range of questions posed by members of the banking inquiry committee.

I am sorry for the lengthy reply, but there were all of these questions which had backed up, some of which we have reported on both before and after European Council meetings since December.

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