Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the impact on Ireland of the ongoing debt crisis in Greece and if he will provide details of any specific assurances he has received from our European partners that any contagion impact will not affect Ireland. [18568/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The main channel through which the Greek sovereign debt crisis is impacting on Ireland is through a widening of sovereign bond spreads. It must be remembered, however, that Ireland is not dependent upon market financing at the moment, so that higher yields are simply notional as opposed to actual costs. In the various discussions that I have had with our EU partners, I have stressed the importance of clear communication regarding the need to support countries that are implementing their programmes.

It is also worth pointing to the recent change to the ESM Treaty – agreed by Finance Minister's in June – to ensure that any bonds issued in the future by the ESM on behalf of programme countries will not enjoy preferred creditor status. In addition, the euro area Heads of State or Government have reiterated their commitment to do whatever is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the euro area as a whole, as evident from the Council Conclusions from the June European Council meeting.

These, I think, demonstrate the willingness of our EU partners to support programme countries that are delivering and will help these countries – including Ireland – return to market-based funding as soon as possible.