'Stand up for Irish interests,' Adams tells Taoiseach

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny was accused in the Dáil of not standing up for Irish interests following high-level EU “secretive emergency meetings” without Irish involvement. However, Mr Kenny said “we will deal with our problem in our way”.

He told Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams that “despite the difficulties, we are meeting our targets. We will continue to negotiate to achieve an interest rate reduction and to seek improvements in the deal for Ireland.”

Mr Adams highlighted a “secretive emergency meeting” last week in Luxembourg with “select EU finance ministers” involving France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, the ECB and EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn.

He said that today “EU Commission president Barroso and German chancellor Angela Merkel and the EU Council president are to meet, not to discuss the Irish situation but to discuss the Greek situation”.

Mr Adams called on Mr Kenny to “stand up for Irish interests. You’re not at this point doing it.”

He said the loan interest rate reduction “is going to happen anyway”, and the Taoiseach needed to “catch the attention of the senior partners in this two-tier European Union” and tell them Ireland’s debt position was not sustainable. “Greece and Portugal are on top of the conversation at the EU. Why isn’t Ireland?”

Mr Kenny said EU ministers for finance meet next Monday.

“These matters are on the agenda, and we will be in discussion and negotiation with our counterparts and, hopefully, a conclusion can be reached.”

He said “an interest rate reduction would obviously be very welcome, but we have to look at that as one issue and to seek improvements in the overall bailout”.

Mr Adams said during Greek demonstrations protesters held up placards saying: “We are not the Irish,” and that was the issue.

Mr Kenny replied: “We are not the Greeks. We are the Irish, and we will deal with our problem in our way.”