Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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110. To ask the Minister for Finance if given the continuing threat to the stability of the eurozone he will join with the other 19 eurozone finance Ministers to organise a debt conference to address the huge debt and interest payments hanging over eurozone states, such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28080/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As I have outlined previously, there are no plans to organise a Debt Conference. 

Issues related to public debt in the euro area Member States are dealt with in the context of the Eurogroup - the Finance Ministers of the democratically-elected Governments of the euro area Member States.  The Heads of State or Government of the euro area Member States can also have a role. 

The Irish Government has succeeded in reducing the burden of public debt, in cooperation with our European partners, with the extension of maturities on our EFSF and EFSM loans, the reduction of interest rates, the replacement of the promissory notes with long-term bonds and the replacement of IMF loans with cheaper market-based funding.  The Portuguese Government has also succeeded in reducing the burden of its debt.

The Eurogroup has also been proactive in reducing the burden of Greek debt and, as I have said repeatedly, I am open to further maturity extensions, longer grace periods, etc. in order to reduce the burden further.  However, I am also strongly of the view that Greece must reform its economy, improve its competitiveness and address structural weaknesses such as weak tax compliance.

Finally, I want to stress that as a union we are in a much stronger place than during the sovereign debt crisis in the early years of this decade. Financial market developments in the euro area (outside of Greece) have been relatively calm in recent days, suggesting that the firewalls created and the governance changes made during the crisis are having the desired effect.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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111. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will propose to his eurozone fellow finance Ministers a full two-year moratorium on Greek debt repayments to enable the Greek Government to re-stabilise the Greek economy; if he will follow up with proposals to park and waive a large portion of this debt for Greece and Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28081/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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It is important to recognise that in relation to the burden of Greek debt significant concessions have already been granted.  In November 2012, for example, the Eurogroup agreed to a lowering by 100 basis points of the interest rate charged to Greece on the loans provided in the context of the Greek Loan Facility. An extension of maturity of the loans by 15 years was also decided.

Currently, there is a moratorium on repayments of principal on the Greek Loan Facility until the early part of the next decade.  Moreover, there are no interest or principal repayments due on the Greek EFSF loans until 2023. 

I have repeatedly said that I am open to further maturity extensions, longer grace periods, etc. in order to reduce further the burden of Greek debt.

This is what we have done in Ireland.  We have restructured our debt - extending the maturities on the EFSF and EFSM loans, replacing the promissory notes with long-term bonds, etc. - in order to reduce the burden of debt.