Caithfidh mé a rá go n-aontaím le ceannaire Fhianna Fáil ar an gceist deireanach sin agus le Teachta McEntee fosta. Mar a dúirt an Taoiseach, is ceist airgid í.

Given that the Taoiseach has explained that this question of medical aid to these two citizens is a question of money, I ask him again if he will support the proposal for a European debt conference. The Tánaiste has said that this initiative has merit. The Taoiseach may recall that yesterday I asked him to reflect overnight on the proposal. I understand the Government's current narrative which is all about the next election. I am sure all of the Front Bench will be making a super-duper effort to get on message and to avoid the serial debacles and controversies of last year. In the run-in to the election, Government-speak will be all about how the sacrifice of our people is now being rewarded, that recovery is under way, that it is fragile, that not everyone is feeling the benefits as yet, but that we should leave it to our two heroes, Enda and Joan, and it will be all right on the night.

The A team.

There is a different narrative and it is that one third of our children are living in constant poverty, that inequality is rife, that half a million taxpayers have been forced to emigrate, that public money that should have been used to tackle the crisis in our hospitals, to rebuild public services, to house our citizens, to stimulate the economy and to create jobs, has been used instead to repay private bank debt. This unsustainable debt burden has been forced upon our people and is the single biggest cause of our economic misery.

It is not just an Irish problem; it is a European problem and it needs a European solution. There is nothing at all to lose if the Taoiseach endorses a European debt conference. In fact, it makes sense because there can only be gains. According to a Labour representative last night, the Tánaiste still believes that the proposal has merit. Will the Taoiseach raise this issue in his meetings next week with Presidents Tusk and Juncker?

Tá a fhios ag an Teachta cén freagra a thug mé ar an Teachta Ó Máirtín ní hamháin faoi chostas an leighis seo ach faoi na díospóireachtaí a bhí ar siúl idir Comhairle na nDochtúirí Leighis agus an comhlacht freisin. Tá súil agam go mbeidh siad in ann réiteach a chur ar fáil i dtreo is go mbeadh an leigheas le fáil ag na daoine atá i gceist.

Deputy Adams referred to the situation in Greece and the issue of a debt conference. I remind Deputy Adams and the House that after the first-----

I never mentioned Greece.

-----cabinet meeting of the new Government of Greece, the Prime Minister issued a statement saying that Greece would not default. That is not in keeping with Deputy Adams' philosophy, I understand. The Prime Minister indicated that Greece is prepared to negotiate and the forum for negotiation is the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN meeting. That is where the Minister, Deputy Noonan, over the past number of years and further at the European Council, has been able to negotiate and renegotiate €50 billion in respect of Ireland over the next ten years. That is the place where the question of debt is discussed and dealt with and where it can be changed. I remind Deputy Adams that in the case of Ireland, less than 10% of the interest we pay is in regard to bank debt and the remainder is in respect of moneys borrowed on the open market.

Bank losses, not debt.

I have written to the Greek Prime Minister and I wished him and his government well in the challenge they face. I am glad to hear him say that Greece will not default.

He always said that.

I am glad to hear him say that Greece is now prepared to negotiate.

For our part, for the past number of years we have a record of being able to prove that negotiation can work in the interests of the debt position in our country which was handed to us by the catastrophic situation a number of years ago.

Losses, not debt.

It was a game-changer.

Retrospection and recapitalisation.

I have already said to the Greek Prime Minister that we will work with him and with his government. The President, Mr. Dijsselbloem, will go to Athens on Friday to begin engagement with the new Government of Greece. I hope it will be possible that through negotiations they will be able to arrive at a sustainable position for Greece for the future.

During the past three and a half years this country has moved to a point where we are on much safer ground than previously but our recovery is incomplete and fragile. Deputy Adams has pointed out his way of doing things. He does not want any money returned to the taxpayer from AIB nor does he want anything to do with Europe and he does not want anything to do with recapitalisation. Sinn Féin proposes to abolish USC, water contributions, development charges and everything else. Sinn Féin's economic programme is a land of fantasy in terms of the people of the country. With regard to the debt position and the debt conference, I am glad to hear the Greek Prime Minister speak out that his country will not default and that they are quite prepared to negotiate within the proper EU forums and institutions in order to achieve clarity and a future for their people. I support that policy.

I am still troubled that I was a bit naive when I came in here.

I put what I think is a reasoned question to the Taoiseach and not only does he not answer it, but he put words in my mouth that I never said. I will reiterate what Sinn Féin said about debt. Sovereign debt has to be paid but it should be separated from private banking debt; private banking debt should not be paid because it is not our debt.

The Taoiseach talked about negotiations. This debt conference is to provide a European-wide forum for negotiating to relieve the burden from citizens of the debt that has been forced upon them.

How did the Taoiseach explain this debt when he went to Davos? He said that Paddy went mad. This was an intellectual statement, a précis of what happened here.

However, the Taoiseach knows that the economic and financial debt and the crisis-----

An féidir liom ord a fháil?

I can manage that.

Go raibh maith agat.

Excuse me, we should be able to hear each other in here. I call Deputy Adams.

There was a time when you never asked anybody else to get order. You are losing your touch, Deputy Adams.

Typical-----

I want to return to my question-----

Please, Members.

-----but I have been in correspondence with the Ceann Comhairle. I wish to draw to the attention of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle the remark made by the Deputy opposite whose name I forget, the lad with the glasses, and I would like the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to deal with it afterwards.

I meant it in the context of a baseball bat.

All right. Please put your question, Deputy Adams.

Rather than Paddy going mad and causing this problem, at the time of the crash the €62 billion in bank loans was in the hands of 190 people. Half of the Irish loan book at Anglo Irish Bank was held by just 20 individuals, a small elite in a golden circle, but the Taoiseach forced Paddy and Patricia to pay for these private bankers' greed. Our suggestions about burden sharing and separating private banking debt and sovereign debt were rejected, but they are now EU policy. Earlier, in response to the question from an Teachta Martin, agus dúirt sé arís é i nGaeilge, dúirt sé nár bhain sé le leigheas ach le hairgead. Why should Irish citizens have to suffer deprivation, inequality, forced emigration, poverty and the denial of their rights to pay for the greed of this small group in the golden circle?

The Taoiseach had the option, and we asked him to do it numerous times, to apply formally for retrospective recapitalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland, but he has not done so. The people to whom I speak do not understand why the Taoiseach refuses to pursue options which would make our debt sustainable and fair. Will the Taoiseach outline to the Dáil for any citizens who may be listening to him any logical reason behind his rejection of the proposal for a European debt conference? Let us not talk about Greece. Let us talk about here and the debt being forced upon people here, and how a debt conference could be a forum for relieving this burden.

It could be held on the north side of Dublin.

Let us talk about here. One thing Deputy Adams is not is naive. All of the people listening know he is not naive. He should not understate his own experience. He states he wants a debt conference to have a forum to discuss debt.

To discuss the relief of the debt from the people.

Like the London one in 1953.

This is why we already have fora in existence. They are the Eurogroup, ECOFIN and the European Council. In the case of Ireland, since he was appointed, the Minister for Finance has been involved in negotiations within these groups on the question of debt relief and easing the burden on the Irish taxpayer. This is where Ireland's problems were raised, where they were discussed, negotiated-----

And left.

-----confirmed and approved later by the European Council.

And not dealt with.

This is why the progress we have made allows us to be able to borrow on the international markets at a fraction of the cost it did when we were appointed, to a point where we can now buy out-----

To borrow to pay.

With new loans.

-----the loans from the IMF of €18 billion which over the coming ten years will save the Irish taxpayer €1.2 billion in interest charges.

And we still have €30 billion in debt.

Deputy Mathews, this is Leaders' Questions.

The forum which exists is called the Eurogroup. This is where Ireland has negotiated €50 billion in respect of promissory notes, interest rate reductions and extensions of maturity dates. I am glad the newly elected Prime Minister of Greece is prepared to negotiate his country's debt relief situation-----

We would like the Taoiseach to do the same.

-----in this group and with these institutions.

As the Minister for Finance has pointed out on many occasions, over the period ahead we expect to get back every euro the Irish taxpayer has put into the banks since the Government was appointed. This is what negotiations and a growing economy are about. Deputy Adams does not want to do this because he wants AIB retained as a nationalised bank owned by the State. He does not want to get back for the taxpayer the moneys put into the restructuring of the bank. He is not naive enough not to understand this. This is why we have a banking inquiry, so the truth can come out about all of the issues which happened in the lead-up to it.

Deputy Adams knows Northern Ireland very well and speaks all the time about the economic progress being made, which is right and proper. This year our deficit in the Republic will be below 3% because of the prudent and competent management of the Government in respect of the economy.

At what cost to ordinary punters?

The deficit in Northern Ireland is 33% at present-----

Deputy Adams is not good at maths.

-----and Deputy Adams proclaims this to be something with which he can live. Economic ballyhoo from Deputy Adams, who is not naive but who does not recognise the truth when it is staring him in the face.