Bank debt deal attainable, says Kenny

The Taoiseach has said he is confident a deal will be done on the promissory notes issue before the next payment is due at the end of March.

Enda Kenny said there were “very significant, technical and complex’’ challenges remaining in the discussions, which related to the sources of funding, the duration of the notes and the interest rates applicable.

“I have been clear in saying that we want to effectively restructure and re-engineer this situation, to move from a high interest rate overdraft to a long-term, low-interest mortgage,’’ Mr Kenny added.

“It is within these parameters that we want to get the best possible deal for our taxpayers,” the Taoiseach said.

He said a deal would clearly make the debt sustainability easier to deal with from an Irish perspective.

“It would strengthen the international view of Ireland making progress towards an exit from our programme,’’ he added. “It is in these areas where we wish to get the best deal for the taxpayer here.’’

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said it was time for a little more transparency on the issue.

‘Real deal’

“Ultimately, when a deal arrives, will it be the real deal the Taoiseach was looking for or will it be some watered-down deal that emerges from the discussions with the European Central Bank ?’’ he asked.

Mr Martin said some people had suggested that the deal on the table last week could have realised €1 billion in savings. He asked Mr Kenny to give a ball-park figure for what a deal could mean in practical terms for the people and their household day-to-day activities in terms of budgeting, savings, cutbacks and so forth.

Mr Kenny said the Government had been upfront on the issue, adding that the detail involved was very complex and technical. “Deputy Martin has referred on several occasions here, following meetings of the European council, that it could be restructured quite easily. I assure Deputy Martin that if that were the case it would have been done long ago.’’