Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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216. To ask the Minister for Finance his views that the recent master financial assistance facility agreement with Greece should be approved by Dáil Éireann, before being enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10356/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As regards whether the extension of 4 months to the second Greek bailout programme would require the approval of Dáil Éireann, I can confirm that no Dáil approval or further domestic legislative steps are necessary.  The loan agreement (Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement) signed up to by Greece will have to be adjusted to take account of the extension.  All that is required to the extension is Ministerial approval.  A more detailed explanation follows.

The European Financial Stability Facility Act 2010 (No 16 of 2010), as amended by the European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Act 2011 (No 25 of 2011), provides for Ireland's membership of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).  This legislation incorporates the consolidated EFSF framework agreement, which includes amendments agreed in 2011. The EFSF Framework Agreement sets out the governance arrangements for the EFSF. This provides for a Board of Governors made up of the Finance Ministers of EFSF Member States, and a Board of Directors made up of senior Finance Ministry officials of the EFSF Member States.

Article 10(5)(d) of the consolidated EFSF Framework Agreement provides that the Board of Directors, by  unanimous decision, may agree any modification to the availability period of any outstanding Financial Assistance (as well as modifications to the aggregate principal amount, repayment profile or interest rate).

On 20 February 2015, the Eurogroup noted a request from the Greek authorities for an extension of the second programme in order to allow the successful completion of the fifth review. The Greek authorities agreed to present a first list of reform measures, based on the current arrangement, by 23 February, which they have done.   

The Institutions (the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF) have provided their first view on the list of reform measures and stated that the list is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review. The measures will need to be further specified and then agreed with the Institutions by the end of April. On this basis, the Eurogroup on 24 February 2015 agreed in principle to proceed with the national approval procedures in order to extend the current programme by up to four months.

The resultant Third Amendment to the Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement with Greece (MFFA) gives effect to the Eurogroup statement of 20 February 2015 by addressing two main aspects of the decision:

- Extending the Availability Period of the Loan Facility under the MFFA for a further 4 months to the end of June 2015.

- The return of the EFSF funds held by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), and making those funds available for the duration of the MFFA extension for bank recapitalisation and resolution costs. 

The Amendment Agreement also includes some other administrative changes to the MFFA, as well as consequential changes required to implement the two aspects above. This amendment is being agreed on the basis of proposals presented by Greece, and the agreement in principle to the extension, indicated by me at Eurogroup, was in accordance with the provisions of the Framework Agreement as approved by the Oireachtas in the legislation already referenced. The question of Dáil approval does not therefore arise.