Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make a general point now that the issue has been raised by Senator David Norris. I blame the Fianna Fáil Party for the language used. The Senator wants to remove the influence of the troika, as we all do, but we should not forget that the troika is made up of public sector bodies. The IMF is a United Nations organisation and the European Commission is effectively part of our democracy. We will be delighted to get back to the bond market, but who is in that market except for private sector financiers and bankers? That is the dichotomy. In the last few years of the last Government the IMF was presented as a bogey man, which was a major failure. It should have been seen as a rescue package. However, we are where we are, as was said a lot at the time.