Opposition slams 'vastly inferior' bailout deal
Opposition parties have said the deal being sought by the Government on Ireland's bailout loans is "vastly inferior" to that which was secured by Greece last year.
The government said the decision of EU finance ministers to examine the possibility of giving Ireland a longer period to pay back the bailout loans, would help our return to the markets.
However, Fianna Fáil have said Ireland should be chasing the same deal granted to Greece last year, which included a debt writedown.
Senator Darragh O'Brien said: "The problem is that the EU is supposed to operate on the basis of equality amongst EU member states. Now, if this is the deal that we get, then it is vastly inferior to the deal the Greeks got.
"To put it in context, if we got the same deal as Greece got it, would mean a €5bn write-down on the €17.5bn we are talking about. We are not getting that."
