Cuirfidh mé an cheist ar a bhfuil an Taoiseach ag fanacht. Tá a fhios agam go raibh an Taoiseach an-ghnóthach ag an deireadh seachtaine ag eitilt ó áit go háit agus ag bualadh le daoine.

Ag caint agus ag eitilt.

Tuigim sin, agus bhí an Taoiseach ag éisteacht fosta. Is it fair to say that Sinn Féin and the Government are of one mind in that the legacy debt must be got rid of if there is to be any chance of regenerating the economy that was wrecked by our friends in Fianna Fáil? I wonder if it is possible-----

There are a few legacies around the Deputy's-----

I will deal with it. Continue.

Go raibh maith agat. Despite the Taoiseach's telephone conversation with the German Chancellor and his meeting with the French President, he failed to clarify how that unsustainable debt is to be paid. I put it to the Taoiseach that the first thing that must be acknowledged is that this debt is unpayable. The Taoiseach has never done that. He has never said "This is not payable. We cannot afford it." Sinn Féin wants him to succeed. The need to regenerate the economy is bigger than any party political concerns. When we argued from the outset that there was a need to separate sovereign debt from private banking debt and for a write-down of that banking debt, the Taoiseach said "No". He said we would not be known as defaulters. He said we would not have this stamped on our foreheads, and he reassured our friends in the European Union on those points. In June, the Government claimed that a deal had been done. The Taoiseach said it was a seismic shift, while the Tánaiste said it was a game changer. The Tánaiste went further and claimed that a deal on legacy debt would be concluded by October, as did the Minister for Finance-----

No. The Commission said-----

-----but a legacy debt was not even mentioned in the June statement. The truth is that no deal was done and no agreement was reached. I understand that negotiations are ongoing and that the game is still on but would it be sensible for the Taoiseach to make it clear that this debt is not payable? Would it be sensible to make it clear also that a deal was not done on legacy debt in June?

This situation was created by a previous Administration which felt it was the cheapest bailout in the world.

Did the Taoiseach vote for it?

The decision of 29 June was a seismic shift because it was a major move from a European policy point of view. It was not existent before that. It was not expected to happen but because of the cogency of the arguments made around the table, agreement was reached to make that major move and break the link between sovereign and bank debt. That was a seismic shift in European policy. The decision of 29 June also meant that the introduction of the banking union and the supervisory process could lead to recapitalisation of banks from the ESM. The meetings of Thursday and Friday - the Deputy will have a chance to address this tomorrow as well - reaffirmed in full the decision of 29 June and set out a date for the legal framework to be in place. We cannot do anything about this without a legal framework, and the date for that is 1 January 2013. In addition, all 27 members of the Council reaffirmed their mandate to the euro group and the Ministers for finance to work out the definitions, the modalities and the conditions that will apply in the process, which will be quite difficult to negotiate. They appreciate that the banking union and the supervisory authority will have to deal with more than 6,000 banks and that the relationship between the Eurogroup, the Ministers for finance and the European Central Bank, which will be the central supervising authority, covers a broad and extensive range of areas to be dealt with.

It is important that when this mechanism is put in place that it be effective, that it be seen to be effective and it is based on quality and standards that will stand up. That cannot happen overnight. The June meeting was reaffirmed on Thursday and Friday. As Deputy Adams correctly pointed out, between ag caint and ag eitilt, the clarification and recognition of Ireland’s unique circumstances and special case will be dealt with as such in the context of the negotiating mandate given to the Minister for Finance.

I can see, after that answer, why they think the Taoiseach is special.

Deputy Adams is very special himself.

I understand the negotiations are ongoing.

Is Deputy Adams disappointed they have not failed?

Deputy Adams was special 20 years ago.

Deputies, please.

The Taoiseach has a significant amount of honest leverage in that this debt is not payable. The cost for the people is crippling. The Taoiseach knows the story so I will not recite it to him but he knows the number of people who are broken from paying the bankers’ private debt. That is the price.

Some times in negotiations, one has to be unreasonable-----

Deputy Adams would know all about that.

-----and have a clear objective in mind.

Will the Taoiseach just acknowledge, contrary to the Government’s claims, that no deal on legacy debt was done in June, as it is clear to everyone else? Will he also make it clear that the debt is not payable? I do not know if the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, was speaking for the Government but last week he said the debt was not sustainable which is the same as saying we cannot pay it. I wish the Taoiseach well in his work. I know the difficulties he faces and how he inherited them from Fianna Fáil and the Greens. However, I would like him to be clear that no legacy deal was done in June and that the people of this State cannot afford to pay this debt.

Thank you Deputy Adams.

The Taoiseach should tell that to our partners in Europe today.

I forgot to say to Deputy Adams that it was the European Commissioner, Olli Rehn, who said it was his hope that there would be a conclusion to the process by the end of October. Deputy Adams will recall in answers to himself and other Members that I said this was unlikely to be achieved, given the scale and the nature of the negotiations that would have to take place. We have always said the process of negotiation from Ireland’s perspective is to attempt to get the best possible deal for our taxpayers and people. That is the position that stands.

The reason this process has to be gone through is that the situation is unfair on the Irish taxpayer and people. As I pointed out the other day, Ireland’s banks have been recapitalised. Ireland was first out of the blocks to have that position imposed upon us. Because of the panic and desperation of the previous Administration, the blanket guarantee was applied in the way it was.

Deputy Adams will have read the conclusions of the summit decision on 29 June. They are very clear. He will have read the decisions of last Thursday and Friday, which are equally clear. They put flesh on the principle adopted in June of setting out the legal framework for the conditions, modalities, the mechanics and the organisation of how this will apply. With over 6,000 banks involved, it is a process that cannot be taken lightly for very good reason.

From Ireland’s perspective, I welcome the joint statement from the German Chancellor-----

Did she speak to the Taoiseach this time?

-----and yesterday’s statement from the French President recognising the unique circumstances of Ireland’s position and that the special case which arises in Ireland will be taken into account in the negotiations that are mandated to be carried out by the euro group. That process is under way and will intensify in the lead up to and after the legal framework has been put in place.