ECONOMIC CRISIS:MINISTERS HAVE dismissed speculation that the State is on the brink of seeking emergency financial aid from the EU, and insisted talks on a bailout had not taken place.
Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe said he was “absolutely unaware of any moves from Europe”. He insisted no such discussions had taken place at Government level, and denied the Coalition was under pressure to apply for a bailout. “It’s been a very hard-won sovereignty for this country, and this Government is not going to give over this sovereignty to anyone else.
“As a country we have to inspire confidence. We have to be the people, and a Government and an Opposition, that can show clearly that Ireland can stand alone, and will stand alone, and that it’s determined to get out of the financial difficulties that we’re in.”
Mr O’Keeffe said Ireland was well-financed up until the middle of next year, and also had a National Pension Reserve Fund of €25 billion. He said during an interview on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme that it was important the two main Opposition parties agreed with the target deficit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product by 2014.
“Even if there was a change of government there would be no change in the containment of the 3 per cent by 2014.”
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said reports that Ireland was close to seeking financial aid from Europe had no basis in fact.
“It is fiction because what we want to do is get on with the business of bringing forward the four-year plan. We obviously have to ignore a lot of this speculation because it is only speculation. We have not applied. There are no negotiations going on. If there were Government would be aware of it, and we are not aware of it.”
Mr Ahern said he had confirmed this with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan yesterday morning.
Asked if he would stake his political reputation and say that Ireland would not apply for funding, he said: “Things are happening day by day. We obviously have to take them, events, as they happen day by day. But the one thing this Government is, it is going to be calm in relation to the issue.”
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin also denied Ireland was discussing a possible bailout. “There is no question of it,” she said.
Ms Hanafin said international publicity was having a destabilising impact on our economy.
“I am just back from the United States, where I met our global Irish network, and they are very concerned about media stories which have no foundation. They said that coverage in the Wall Street Journal had been quite damaging to our reputation abroad.”
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore called on the Government to ensure Ireland retained its economic independence.
“We fought hard for our independence, and we should not hand it away. I would be very surprised if there were any behind-the-scene discussions between the Government and the European authorities on this.”
He said he accepted Mr Cowen’s assurance that no such talks had taken place.
A spokesman for Fine Gael said the Government had not made available the details of its plan. “While we agree broadly with the targets, we have an entirely different way of getting there.”