The Department of Finance has insisted that talks are underway between Irish and European Union officials on Anglo Irish Bank’s promissory notes.
The Coalition funded the €30.6 billion recapitalisation of the bank through a promissory note, or IOU from the European Central Bank, on which the State will pay €17 billion in interest, unless rates are renegotiated.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he is seeking a "redesign" of the promissory note to ease the 8.2 per cent rate that will have to be paid over 10 years.
A spokesman for European monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said today the European Commission had not received any formal proposal from the Government on the matter.
Amadeu Altafaj said formal proposals from the Government on the Anglo notes would be considered but had not been received at this point.
The department said technical discussions "are underway" between Mr Noonan's officials and officials from the ECB and EU Commission regarding the promissory notes.
"Indeed, the Minister for Finance has personally raised this issue during a number of different discussions with the EU Commission, ECB and the IMF, including at the last quarterly review in October," the department said in response to a question about Mr Altafaj's comment.
It said Mr Altafaj, who was speaking during a live interview, might not be aware of all ongoing discussions between European and Irish officials regarding very specific issues.
