TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny has said he will push EU leaders to follow through on their “clear and unequivocal” decision to ease Ireland’s bank debt burden in Brussels next week.
However, he was unable to say when such a deal might be secured, and acknowledged a lot of work remained to be done on the nature and scale of any deal.
Despite views expressed recently by finance ministers from three countries, including Germany, that European rescue funds should not take on “legacy” banking debt, Mr Kenny insisted it will happen for Ireland.
He said the European leaders’ decision to “break the toxic link between bank debt and sovereign debt” last June could not be reneged on. “I’m very clear on this: we are going to get a deal on debt. The nature and scale of the deal is yet to be worked out, but the decision has been made.”
Mr Kenny was speaking at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of a two-day visit to the US aimed at enhancing business and tourism links between the two countries.