Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Finance further to the confirmation by Moody’s Investors Services of Ireland’s sovereign debt junk status with a negative outlook, which Moody’s sought to justify by stating the euro areas continued vulnerability to shocks emanating from the regional debt crisis, most recently the agreement by the European Union to the bail-in of bank deposits to raise part of the funds needed for Cyprus' financial rescue, if he continues to maintain that the design, to which he contributed, and implementation of the Cypriot bailout is good for Cyprus, the Eurozone and Ireland. [16593/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome that an agreement has been reached in relation to a programme for Cyprus. The fact that an agreement has been reached is important, as this will remove uncertainty and generate stability, for Cyprus, for the euro area and for Ireland. The programme will address the exceptional challenges that Cyprus is facing, with a view to restoring the viability of the banking sector, the soundness of public finances and creating the conditions for sustainable growth and job creation.

The details of the programme have been agreed with the Troika. Some of the elements of the programme have been decided upon by the Cypriot authorities themselves. The overall strategy involves measures aimed at ensuring a stable, sustainable and transparent financial sector, a fiscal adjustment that balances short-run cyclical concerns and long-run sustainability objectives and a comprehensive programme of structural reforms.

Cyprus is a unique case because of the size of its banking sector (7 to 8 times GDP), combined with its structure, level of risk-taking and suboptimal supervision. Cyprus has also been particularly affected by debt developments in Greece. So the current measures are tailor-made to the very exceptional situation in Cyprus in order to restore the viability of a smaller banking sector while, at the same time, protecting all deposits below €100,000 in accordance with EU rules.