Taoiseach insists State will repay loans and debts

IRELAND WILL repay its debts and is not looking for a longer period to pay back its loans, Taoiseach Enda Kenny insisted in the Dáil.

He said Ireland was “meeting the conditions” of the bailout with the IMF and the EU, and the Government “will continue to look for improvements in it”. However, he added, “it would be preferable if we had clarity of decision on the part of all European leaders on the crisis facing a number of countries”.

The Taoiseach also rejected claims by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin that the Government’s position about restructuring debt and on the common consolidated corporate tax base was “confused”. He repeated his view that it was “tax harmonisation by the back door”.

Mr Martin raised the issue of talks about the restructuring of Greece’s debts and asked if Ireland would also seek restructuring of debt. He noted that before the general election Fine Gael and Labour “were very enthusiastic about negotiating the restructuring of the debt and made many commitments in that regard”. Their position had now “changed dramatically”.

Mr Kenny said if Mr Martin’s definition of “restructuring” meant “we are looking for a longer term to pay back the money we owe, or that we are not going to pay back the money we borrowed, that is not the intention of the Government. We will pay back the loans and the debts the previous government incurred for the country.” He said Ireland was not involved in the bailout package “in a voluntary capacity”.

“It is both challenging and difficult, but we are meeting our targets and on line to achieve them.”

Mr Martin said there was an “element of confusion” in the Government’s position. In recent weeks “Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, perhaps consistent with his pre-election position, articulated the idea of rescheduling the Irish debt, which the markets and analysts would define as restructuring. He was firmly slapped down by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, who stated definitively this was off the table”.

The Government’s negotiating position was “equally unclear” on the plan for a common consolidated corporate tax base.