Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Thomas Byrne for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to address the remarks made. I also thank him for his support and that of his party for the general thrust of Government policy on these matters.

When commenting on financial market issues, it is important we are aware that what we say can be misunderstood for a variety of reasons. For this reason finance Ministers refrain from comment on such matters. However, the Government position remains as was, namely, we will repay our debts in line with their terms and conditions. The Government is not seeking any rescheduling.

I reiterate that the Government is committed to the programme targets. This commitment covers all the conditions covering fiscal consolidation, financial sector reform, structural reform and structural fiscal reform. Meeting these conditions on time and on target is the best way to ensure that we emerge successfully from this programme. This will mean that we can return safely to the financial markets for funding in as timely a manner as possible. This is one of the principal objectives of the programme.

This Government's commitment to the programme does not stop us from seeking and agreeing changes to aspects of it. Indeed, the Government has already renegotiated changes in the key conditions of the programme that it wished to change. The outcome of the recent review was that programme implementation is on target, in terms of the fiscal targets and of delivering the conditions with end-March 2011 deadlines. We have made a strong start and have received a clean bill of health from the troika, namely, the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF, the teams which undertook the review.

The subject of this motion must be considered in this context, namely, a strong commitment to the programme objectives and a strong track record on implementation. In relation to the statements made, I believe these were taken out of context. In the case of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, I understand his comments were made in relation to the likely funding of public private partnerships in the transport infrastructure sector and were not specifically about the EU-IMF programme of financial support in general. On the comments made by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I understand that this refers to a story carried by Reuters in the middle of last month. This arose from an answer to a hypothetical question. I want to emphasise that answers to hypothetical questions are just that. Government policy is, as I have already stated, that we will repay our debts in line with their terms and conditions. The Government is not seeking any rescheduling.

Ireland's programme is on track and we are doing what is necessary to restore our ability to fund ourselves. It is the stated intention of the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, to return to sovereign debt markets as soon as market conditions permit. The steps necessary to enable such a return include resolution of the banking sector issues and continued progress in the reduction of the budget deficit in line with the targets agreed in the EU-IMF programme of financial support together with implementation of policies that will see us return to sustainable economic growth. A key development in that regard has been the publication of the results of the bank stress tests on 30 March 2011 and the associated recapitalisation exercises which have been well received by investors and rating agencies alike.

The NTMA is in constant contact with market participants and will advise me when it feels that the time is right to re-enter the markets. In the opinion of Mr. John Corrigan, head of the NTMA, we may be able to do so in the third quarter of next year. While circumstances change, that is his tentative date. Based on conservative projections of our funding needs and taking account of funding possibilities, there is no urgency about a return to the markets. Indeed, the purpose of a programme such as the EU-IMF programme for Ireland is to provide the space necessary for economic and fiscal adjustment to take place. Based on current projections and assuming no market access, the State has access to sufficient funds for its needs into the second half of 2013.

The continued adherence to Government polices aimed at fostering growth and to the programme conditions, will be an important part in achieving this outcome.