Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of meetings he attended where the possibility of a precautionary credit line was discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50151/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As I undertook broad consultation regarding all of the available exit options, including the option of a precautionary credit line, it is difficult to put a precise figure on the number of meetings I attended on this matter. My consultations included discussions with Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF; Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European Commission; Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of Eurogroup; Wolfgang Schauble, German Finance Minister; Jack Lew, US Treasury Secretary; Pierre Moscovici, French Finance Minister; as well as my colleagues at both the Eurogroup and Ecofin Councils, along with discussions with the Troika teams during review missions. I also listened to the views of the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, the Chief Executive of the NTMA as well as taking advice from my own Department. The issue was also discussed at the Economic Management Council and Government. Following a careful and thorough assessment of all of the available options, the decision was taken to exit without a pre-arranged precautionary facility or backstop.

Following our decision to exit our programme without recourse to a precautionary credit facility, investor confidence in Ireland has continued to improve and interest rates on Irish Government bonds are now seen as favourable, as demonstrated by the recent highly successful issue of a €3.75bn new 10-year Irish benchmark bond which attracted in excess of €14bn in orders at a yield of 3.543%. This is an important milestone on Ireland’s recovery and will send a further signal that Ireland is recovering, returning to normal market funding and building for a sustainable future.