Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to extend the taxpayer guarantee for unsecured senior bonds in Anglo Irish Bank issued before September 2008 beyond the 30 September 2010 expiry date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33919/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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To qualify as an eligible liability under the ELG Scheme, a bond must be issued between the date the participating institution joined the scheme and midnight on 31 December 2010. Unsecured senior bonds issued by Anglo Irish Bank before September 2008 do not therefore qualify as eligible liabilities, and they will no longer benefit from a guarantee after the expiry of the CIFS Scheme on 29 September 2010.

Much has been said about senior debt obligations in Anglo Irish Bank. The position is that senior debt obligations rank equally with deposits and other creditors under Irish law. I have no plans to change this position. There is, therefore, no question of seeking to impose losses on holders of such senior debt in Anglo or indeed in any other credit institution in the State through any legislative measures. Any alternative strategy as advocated by some creates a significant risk of jeopardising the banking system's and indeed the State's access to international debt markets and cannot be countenanced on that basis.