SEANAD:There would be no "fire sale" of IBRC assets, Minister of State for Finance Brian Hayes assured the House.

As part of the role of the liquidator the assets would be valued independently before being sold. Any asset not sold to third parties at or above the valuation price would be sold to Nama at the independent valuation.

He said this would ensure a floor price on assets. The Government’s approach was focused on the best outcome for the State .

Mr Hayes, who was speaking in a debate on the recent promissory note arrangement, said the success of the Government’s implementation programme had been recognised by the financial markets.

Our 10-year bond yields were at 3.8 per cent yesterday. The “blended” rate at which we were lent money from two EU funds was about 3.3 per cent. So we were just 0.5 per cent from full market return.

“Once you get below the blended European rates, really there is no point in hanging on to the troika any longer because you can get it independently.”

Mr Hayes said our debt problem would probably maximise at about 120 per cent of GDP. The average across the EU was 98 per cent, so Europe was in a bad place on debt and a solution must be found to which all member states could sign up.

Mr Hayes praised the roles played by public servants in the achievement of the promissory note deal.

Katherine Zappone (Ind) said there was no combat poverty strategy in this country any more. Saying that increasing jobs was the strategy was too simplistic.

It would help, but so much more was needed, such as a cross-party approach to eradicating poverty once and for all.

Fiach Mac Conghail (Ind) said a Caritas report had concluded that the prioritising of austerity policies was not working in the European countries worst affected by the current economic crisis.

He said the latest Central Statistics Office figures on the level of poverty starkly demonstrated the need to examine how we could protect our most vulnerable citizens by alleviating their burden.