Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a case of more roll-over Leo. The promise given by the Taoiseach, the previous Taoiseach and the then Minister for Finance is now gone. We knew about the legal challenge but even after these junior bondholders went to the courts, the argument was made by the then Governor of the Central Bank that this was a legal battle that was worth having. He impressed on the Department that it enlist debt restructuring lawyers to take on these bondholders.

The Government has no problem with the State taking on victims of cervical cancer, those whose cancer diagnoses were missed in County Kerry, or those who are going to the State to ensure their children will have an assessment of needs and the courts to ensure their children can fulfil their full potential, yet unsecured bondholders who were not guaranteed are being paid in full under the Taoiseach's watch. The taxpayer has been left with a debt of €33 billion. That is the cost of the disastrous policies of Anglo Irish Bank and the Irish Nationwide Building Society which was captured by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Is the Taoiseach going to do anything about this? Are his promises to the people in 2015 not worth the paper on which they were written? He needs to take a legal challenge and the bondholders can fight it in the courts, if they so wish, but the people are sick and tired of the Government continually rolling over when it comes to bankers, bondholders and vulture funds.

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