I wonder if the House or the Government understands the seriousness of this statement last night and why it was issued. It seems that the three most powerful economic countries in Europe, which did not have to issue this statement, quite simply decided to send a message to Ireland and Spain that past debt - the Taoiseach appears to be talking about the future - of the type mentioned will not be eligible for any type of rescue. That means that the seismic shift, to which the Taoiseach referred and to which Ministers referred in June last, is now in reverse gear and the Government was sold a pup by Europe and passed it on to the Irish people. There is no other way of interpreting what happened and there is no point in pretending that this is good news. This is a disaster for the attempts to get out of debt, and particularly to rescue the pillar banks.

I ask the Taoiseach to answer this question because I think it is significant. I do not know the answer to this question and I am not asking it in a loaded way. Did he get knowledge of this statement in advance? Did someone from Berlin, Helsinki or The Hague ring him up or contact him stating that they were going to issue this statement which puts an end to his hopes-----

It does not.

-----of getting the money that he hoped for as a result of the June communiqué?

The statement is important because it tells us what the relationship is between Ireland and Europe. This statement says that the policy, in particular that pursued in June, has failed but the policy in general is now under question. This particular statement was a statement which was unfriendly and unhelpful to Ireland and deliberately damaging to Ireland.

There was no knowledge about the statement in advance. Speaking to three Prime Ministers last week, Prime Minister Rajoy from Spain, Mr. Samaras from Greece and Prime Minister Monti from Italy, each one of them, when we discussed the progress being made on the implementation of the Council decision and their own country's position, was clear that this decision of 29 June is what must be implemented for the protection of the euro, for the development of the eurozone and, in particular, in our case, reflecting the decision made in regard to Ireland being named as one of two countries mentioned in the decision.

The statement last night is from three Finance Ministers of 27. The June decision was of the 27 Heads of Government. As everybody will be aware, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, in his dealings with this counterparts, has received strong political support for the difficult decisions and negotiations that are required to unwind the deal that was done previously and to improve Ireland's debt sustainability as per the decision of 29 June.

Deputy Ross will be aware of the municipal elections in Finland. He will be aware that a Government has not yet been formed in the Netherlands. He will also be aware of the assistance given by Minister Schäuble to the Minister, Deputy Noonan, in his discussions about the promissory note and the technical difficulties there, and his association with the ECB, etc.

To be clear about this, there was no information about the statement in advance. The decision of 29 June is clear and unequivocal. Our efforts, both as a member of the eurozone and the Union, are to implement that decision to protect the eurozone and the euro, and to improve Ireland's debt sustainability which is mentioned specifically in the decision of 29 June.

I thank the Taoiseach for the straight reply. It is most unfortunate that the Taoiseach did not get knowledge in advance because Ireland and Spain, in particular, are the two nations most affected by it. It seems that is symptomatic of the way Ireland is now treated in Europe, as the good poster boy who gets nothing in return. The least we could have got was that knowledge. We are getting nothing back from Europe for being good Europeans. We are not even getting information in advance about matters which affect our vital interests.

These are not three out of 27 Finance Ministers. These are the three most economically powerful nations. These are three triple A-rated nations. These are three people who will dictate the pace in the next European summit to the other nations.

Perhaps the Taoiseach could comment on this.

This is not just about scoring political points. Today Reuters states it now appears likely that Ireland will remain saddled with vast amounts of bank debt that will make it harder for the Government to solve banking problems and get the country's finances in order. That is an international, independent judgment on the State.

It is not independent.

I ask the Taoiseach to comment on it and respond to what Deputy Mary Lou McDonald said and tell us if he agrees with the farcical statement from the Department of Finance that it welcomes the statement made elsewhere in Europe. That is utter nonsense and if it is the case, someone should be fired from the Department immediately. This is the most damaging statement on Ireland to come from the European Union in living memory.

I do not agree that this country has not received substantial support from the European Union during the years. When the people made a clear, strong and welcome decision on the fiscal stability treaty, this was followed shortly thereafter by the strongest delegation from the European Investment Bank that had ever come here, with a clear willingness to commit to further investment through that source.

I will not decry the appointment of a Minister of Finance by any Prime Minister elsewhere in Europe. There are 27 involved and there is a statement from three of them. I return to the point that I believe in the political system being able to deliver. As I said to Deputy Micheál Martin, if there has been a fault on the part of the European Union in respect of its citizens - next year is the year of the citizen - it has been the failure to demonstrate the capacity to follow through and implement decisions made. The decision of 29 June was clear and unequivocal in two respects - in the protection of the euro and the eurozone and the direct recapitalisation of banks, therefore breaking the link between sovereign debt and bank debt, and second, in improving Ireland's debt sustainability to give equal treatment where others received a deal. On these two issues, the Minister for Finance, officials and I, at Heads of Government level, will follow through resolutely and diligently. It is too important to have Heads of Government make a clear and unequivocal decision and not to have it implemented. Of course, when politicians begin to negotiate on these issues, we have different points of view. However, there is no resiling and no going back from the clarity of the decision to break the link and improve Ireland's debt sustainability. That is where we will continue to make our efforts. As Commissioner Rehn pointed out, he would like to have the issue dealt with by the end of October. The Minister for Finance has made the point that, realistically, that is not achievable and that it is important to get the right deal. In that sense, we continue to return to the foundation stone, namely, the clarity of the decision of 29 June made by the Heads of Government. That is what is important and it needs to be implemented.