Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his plans during Ireland's presidency of the EU to progress a deal on the bank debt for Ireland, including scheduled meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1978/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am satisfied that every available and appropriate opportunity to advance Ireland's position in regard to legacy bank debt with our European partners is being availed of. As the Deputy is aware, the Irish Government has been working extremely hard to secure a deal on the Irish bank debt with our European partners and detailed work will continue to ensure that positive moves in Europe are harnessed to maximise the benefit to the Irish taxpayer. On 14 December 2012, the European Council stated:

[O]nce an effective SSM is established, the ESM will be able to recapitalise banks directly. An agreement on the operational framework supporting this possibility, including the definition of legacy assets, should be agreed as soon as possible in the first semester of 2013.

Ireland continues to be fully engaged in this process within the Eurogroup and among Heads of State or Government. Furthermore, officials from my Department participate in technical meetings with the ESM and other member states. In this regard and despite recent media reports, discussions remain ongoing and no conclusion has been reached. This issue is not on the formal agenda for EU meetings but it is discussed in the context of our successful programme and we continue to work with our troika partners towards a solution.

In regard to the issue of the IBRC promissory notes, I am glad to say we meet with strong appreciation of our circumstances and we are able to have very constructive dialogue on our approach to this question. This work is one of the Government's key priorities and will remain a key focus during the EU Presidency.

I have stated previously that I am working to try to achieve a solution before the next scheduled instalment on the promissory note at the end of March. It would be very difficult for Ireland to make a payment on that date so we continue to work on a deal with our European partners to resolve this issue.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The European Commission, in its recent review of our circumstances, suggested that if growth, particularly that in the domestic economy, continues to remain poor and does not rise to the desired level and if the issue of chronic mass long-term unemployment is not dealt with, there is a real danger that our debt will become unsustainable. The rating agencies consider our debt to be junk. Most important, we will have to pay €9.1 billion this year in interest on our enormous and clearly unsustainable debt, at a terrible cost to the citizens of the country. It is the equivalent of the whole education budget being paid in interest on debt.

Will Ireland's EU Presidency just be a load of pomp and ceremony signifying nothing? Alternatively, will it be used as a platform and pressure point to obtain fairness and sustainability and relief for ordinary Irish citizens from the absolutely intolerable and unsustainable burden? Can the Minister give us concrete reasons to hope that, by the end of the Presidency, we will obtain the relief we deserve and desperately need if the economy has any chance whatsoever of recovering? Can the Minister give us concrete assurances or outline plans that could lead us to believe this might be the case?

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Rating agencies are paid by financial organisations to measure risk. One should never expect rating agencies to come out singing and dancing and giving one a whole lot of good news because their business is to measure risk, which they are assessing constantly. The rating agencies do not say Irish paper is junk as we have a rating of BBB+. During the week, Fitch said that if Ireland got a significant deal on its debt, it would upgrade its rating to A. Therefore, we are moving in the right direction. Irish paper has a value. As a matter of fact, in the first half of today the NTMA sold three-month treasury bills worth €500 million and the rate achieved was 0.2%. This is the lowest rate at which any Irish Government ever raised funds on the market according to the Central Bank. We are, therefore, moving in the right direction. I acknowledge that some kind of deal on bank debt is probably being factored in. If we do not get a deal on the bank debt, the interest rates will move in the opposite direction.

The Commission, in its latest report, pointed out again the risks associated with our programme. Overall, it gave a strong endorsement of the progress we are making but it said there are still risks. I agree. All I have ever claimed is that we have made significant progress, but there are still risks. If we stop doing what we are doing, those risks will be realised and some event outside our control and our jurisdiction could occur that would magnify the problem. We certainly have not reached dry land and are still working on this. It is work in progress but progress is being made; that is all we are claiming. I assure the Deputy that we will continue to work on this and try to get the economy to grow and the growing economy to create more jobs. As the Deputy rightly identified, long-term unemployment is one of the significant corrosive elements in society. It is very hard to fix it once it gets into the system.