I refer to the most important issue facing the country, namely, the unsustainable levels of debt. Much has been made about the joint communiqué issued by the Taoiseach and Chancellor Merkel in which she describes Ireland as a special case. What constitutes Ireland being a special case? The reason we are so described is because billions of euro of taxpayers' money has been put into toxic banks. I am disappointed there is still fudge. We are 20 months on from the general election and we are no closer to a deal, despite the joint communiqué.

We are closer.

Nowhere in the communiqué does it say it will deal with legacy debts. Having photographs of the kissing cousins, the Taoiseach and the Chancellor, will not bring about any deal. I want to hear from the lips of Chancellor Merkel that the deal will involve dealing with legacy debts of this country. Unless it is said clearly and explicitly, we have no deal.

It is a start.

We all want to see a deal for the people of this country but 20 months have passed since the general election. Mention has been made of game playing. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste hyped up the deal done last year and oversold it as a game changer, which it was not. They want us to go along with the pathetic attempt to talk up a deal, which is not in place, and to support them when we do not have a deal. That is the politics and game playing being played out in Europe, where they get the Chancellor to issue a communiqué that says nothing other than that Ireland is a special case. We want a deal and we want clear, unambiguous words that say simply that Ireland's legacy debt will be dealt with. We want to hear that from Chancellor Merkel.

What we need are not communiques and photographs of people kissing each other, but a deal that separates the sovereign debt from the banking debt. I doubt that the people of Ireland will put up with less than that. All we are getting at present is more fudge and nonsense from the Government.