Taoiseach tells Davos conference: Ireland needs EU leaders to honour debt commitments
Ireland cannot exit the bailout programme this year if EU leaders do not honour their commitments on the Anglo promissory notes and separating sovereign debt from bank debt, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said today.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Enda Kenny said that Irish people have waited a long time for a conclusion to the two issues, whilst under the "crushing burden" of the bailout programme.
Talks on renegotiating the terms of the repayment of the Anglo Irish Bank promissory note are continuing ahead of the next instalment deadline in March.
Last June, a commitment was given to allow bank debt be separated from sovereign debt last June, but there have been mixed signals from Europe since as to whether or not Ireland's legacy debt will be included.
Deputy Kenny said that Ireland wants to be an example of a success story, but we cannot do it without the co-operation of European leaders.
"The mechanisms and the tools that are available now were not available when the crash hit Ireland," he said.
"We were required to borrow €64bn, or 40% of our GDP, to pay for banks and private creditors to banks, in a situation which has been a crushing burden on the people.
"So their patience has been long and they've been waiting, and markets have actually factored in a conclusion to this situation for Ireland."
