THE COST of fixing the Irish banking system “has been very significant and horrendous”, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin told Bloomberg television yesterday.
“Let’s be clear,” said Mr Martin, “the Government has a clear pathway out of that and the Central Bank is actually working on the precise figures, the certain figures and will be publishing those towards the end of this week.
He said publication of the figures would provide the “clarity and certainty” that was required by the markets.
Speaking on the InBusiness show, where he was interviewed by Margaret Brennan, Mr Martin refused to be drawn on new estimates from ratings agency Standard Poor’s which suggest the final cost of the Anglo bailout could reach €35 billion.
He reiterated Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan’s comments that the “once-off” costs of the Anglo bailout were “manageable” for the State finances.
When pressed on the total bill for rescuing the banks, Mr Martin said: “The final costs will be much less than the up-front costs but we decided to go up-front on that.”
Mr Martin outlined to US viewers of the financial news station that there were three pillars to Ireland’s economic recovery: the fiscal correction, which had been “severe”; the resolution of the problems in the banking sector, and improving national competitiveness.
“Unit labour costs have come down 6¾ per cent compared to our European peers and exports last quarter went up 7½ per cent on an annualised basis,” said Mr Martin. “So industry is humming in Ireland, the multinational sector is particularly buoyant and exports of both services and manufacturing goods are really going very well.”
