Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Greece is still in a bailout programme. It is involved in reducing spending on public services and investment, as well as changing public pensions.

We have all that behind us. We have made those changes. We are out of a bailout programme and we are now in a position in which we are able to fund our own debt on a day-to-day basis. We are seeking to pay back money we secured in a bailout programme.

The Deputy asked me what changes were made to make our debt more sustainable. We made changes in regard to the interest rates in terms of how we accessed funding from the European Union and other countries. Those savings were worth over €9 billion over the original seven and a half years of the loans. We made decisions to extend the maturities or the length of time over which we would pay back debt to European institutions. This removed the need for the State to refinance nearly €20 billion worth of debt between 2015 and 2022. We made a decision to repay over four fifths of our IMF loans, which will deliver interest savings of over €1.5 billion. We are securing the kind of change the Deputy is seeking. The difference between Ireland and Greece is as I have tried to outline to him.

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