Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

Obviously Senator Darragh O'Brien and 12 or more others mentioned the promissory notes. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, had always given an indication that he would inform the Dáil of any development concerning the payment of the promissory notes and he did so yesterday. The Government has been involved for a long period in technical discussions on reducing the burden of debt associated with the recapitalisation of the banks. The focus has been on the promissory note agreement put in place to fund the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank. The discussions with the EU authorities on the general issue continue but we are negotiating on the basis that the €3.06 billion cash instalment due from the Minister to the IBRC on 31 March 2012, under the terms of the IBRC promissory notes, can be settled by the delivery of a long-term Government bond. The details of the arrangement have still to be worked out.

I reiterate the statement from the Minister last night when he said that discussions are still ongoing. However, the obvious use of a Government bond would certainly have a positive cash flow benefit for the State as it would free up €3.06 billion cash that was required to pay the promissory notes. As stated by Senator Mooney, it should be borne in mind that even with the use of the Government bond to make the promissory note payment, the State still has a very sizeable Exchequer deficit of public spending over revenue of €15.8 billion in 2012. If we want an economy that encourages and supports job creation we need to continue the path of closing the gap over a period. That is the aim of the Government and what it intends to do.

Senator O'Brien also raised the question of the household charge which has been raised on several occasions. I understand that 35,000 people paid it yesterday. The number of people paying the charge has been increasing and I am sure that will continue up to the closing date of 31 March. The Minister has said there will be no change to the deadline. Application forms can be collected from An Post but payment cannot be made through An Post.