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Dublin: 19 °C Wednesday 19 June, 2013

Gilmore says new eurozone deal is a ‘game-changer’ for Ireland

The Tánaiste has also said that it reduces the chances of Ireland needed a second bailout.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, walks by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy during a round table at the EU Summit in Brussels
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, walks by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy during a round table at the EU Summit in Brussels
Image: AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

THE TÁINAISTE EAMON Gilmore has said the new eurozone deal greatly reduces the chances of Ireland needed a second bailout.

Gilmore was speaking in the wake of last night’s dramatic decision which came after 13 hours of meetings between EU leaders. The deal means that Spain’s banks can be bailed out directly from the European Stability Mechanism, and that the same measures can be applied retrospectively to Ireland.

The Tánaiste told Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One that the news “changes the game for us as far as bank debt is concerned”, and that the method of breaking that link can now be applied to Ireland.

He said that by next year Ireland will have a “massive level of debt for any country to bear”, but that this deal will make things easier for the Irish people and help to bring the debt to GDP ratio down.

Gilmore also said that he does believe the deal will be retrospectively applied, and said that it massively improves the chances of Ireland not needing a second bailout.

Enda Kenny has described the decision as a “seismic shift in European policy” and said that the debt burden on the Irish taxpayer can be re-engineered.

Explainer: What did the EU leaders agree overnight in Brussels?

Taoiseach: Irish debt burden on the tax-payer to be ‘re-engineered’>

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Comments (34 Comments)

  • The only reason this might be good for Ireland is because Spain and Italy dug their heels in…

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  • Hopefully it will be retrospective. Though we also need to see the details of the deal to see at what price the change comes at.

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  • Dave 29/06/12 #

    Lets hope the positivity comes to pass. We’ve had false dawns before.

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  • Does this mean the billions already pumped into Irish banks will be taken off the country debt?

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  • So what happen’s next??
    Does this mean Irish taxpayer’s are to stop paying private bank debt,or are we still Liable to pay the whole lot.

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    • I would say a deal on IBRC debt as for AIB/boi I don’t know if that will be changed as much of the pension fund bailed out that so its not technically debt plus as they are trading banks it will peob be the view that the gov will be able to sell their stake in the future … Even if it was just IBRC that would be 20% off our debt levels getting us below 100% that wud be a very positive development

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    • @Jay
      It sounds like good news,but I really have to see it to believe it,I still think Ireland will be saddled with billion’s of bank debt while Spain and Italy get there banks bailed out by the ECB without it being a sovereign debt.

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  • I’ll believe it when i see it!

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  • Will this mean that the government will stop turning the screw on us? Will we see our standard of living improve? Or stop declining? Will we have more money in our pockets to spend so as to grow our domestic economy? If this new deal does not address the above than this deal has no meaning or value for the Joe Soap on the street.

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    • Neil 29/06/12 #

      Nearly all of our borrowing is because of regular spending on PS Pay, social welfare etc.
      A deal on bank debt changes nothing. If those we borrow from want to lend us less then the government has to tax more and spend less.

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  • jrbmc 29/06/12 #

    Dont be taken in yet folks till it’s written in stone , until then it’s just more lies, promises and bullshit !

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    • Baldy says immediately that the citizens will not benefit from this in 2013. And maybe only in future years.
      So the fanfare and seismic change mean no benefit to the citizens of this country.
      It is bullshit.

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  • Firstly Gilmore this is not our debt remember that!
    Also it just shows how gutless our politicians are that they have to wait for Spain to need a bailout and then we jump on their backs

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    • When your position is weak, you take every opportunity you get and milk it for what it’s worth.

      Spain (and Italy) being in trouble was an opportunity for us. It would have been complete insanity not to get everything we could on the back of their misfortune, and if our politicians hadn’t done so they would have (rightly) been loudly berated.

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  • G’wan Eamonn, tell us we’ve ‘turned a corner’(tm)

    We’ll get more favourable terms to repay other peoples debts thanks to the spanish and italin governments, like we got a lower interest rate thanks to Greeces unsustainable debt burden. And we” be treated of images from now till the next election of fine gael and labour patting each other on the backs, exclaimig how their strong leadership and dogged determination at the negotiating table had won Ireland a deal on the debts.

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  • What Eamon, Yahooooooooo its finaly Labours way, ahh no hang on wait a minute, false alarm, more BULLSh*T.

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  • If by ‘game changer’ you mean more of the same, then rock on game changer.

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  • “although Germany appears to have compromised, Chancellor Angela Merkel has managed to ensure that Brussels has more control over the finances of eurozone countries, something she had wanted.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18620965

    Seems Merkel has got her way, and our budgets will be sanctioned by Brussels via the Bundestag.

    Our traitorous Blue Shirted Smoked Salmon Socialist numpties will have handed the Germans the irish Republic before they leave power !!!

    As for Gimmemore, this thing is Not retrospective. Meaning we will be paying for the current bank debt for decades to come. This deal will only relate to Italy, Spain etc & any future bank failures.

    Our Goons in Govt had no say in this “Deal” whatsoever, they are merely hanging off the coat tails of Italy & Spain.

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    • Um, I think we were handed over to the Germans long since – who do you think has been dictating our budgets for the last few years?

      How do you know this is not retrospective?

      We should have avoided riding the coat tails of Italy and Spain out of what? Pride? Stupidity? Their trouble was our opportunity. When you see opportunity, take it.

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    • Neil 29/06/12 #

      German taxpayers do not want to write blank cheques to other countries.

      They’re just so selfish!

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  • ”and said that it massively improves the chances of Ireland not needing a second bailout.” Sure they always said we would not NEED a second bail out . More sh!te ! Gilmore et al, have any of you any idea how depressing you all make us feel . How much did these discussions cost the tax payers across Europe ? You are all a joke . Spending money on Garbage.That is all you lot are doing.

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  • WRONG GILMORE

    A promise was made to “examine the situation of the Irish financial sector”.

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    • were you at the meeting?

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    • I don’t think you can take what they said publically to be the whole deal. I’d take the fact that Ireland was specifically mentioned in that was as an indication that something is on. I am hoping that Gilmore is saying this cos he knows more than was said elsewhere. It may not be a get out of jail free card, but it’s a step in the right direction when we have had nothing but steps in the wrong direction up to now.

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    • Katie,

      On the current trajectory, none of the restructures will manage to get our debt to a manageable level. You can either change the trajectory, which means more austerity, for which Ireland has already fully stomached. Or you expect the shrinking number of targets to transfer large parts of our taxpayers money to the toxic dump in Anglo Irish Bank. The guarantees that Ireland had given for the Banks (€200 billion if you add these unguaranteed bondholders) match the order of magnitude of 32% of GDP.

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  • Pity you didn’t have the guts to insist on it in the first place Gilbore….
    Either way I still wouldn’t vote FG again

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  • Dmc 29/06/12 #

    Crap deal. AGAIN. Euro bonds and debt forgiveness is whats needed. Nothing else will work

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  • Another great day for Ireland. Time after time, people said it wouldn’t and couldn’t be done. We were told if we voted Yes to the Fiscal Treaty, we would get no deal at all. When the country voted Yes in their majority right the Sinn Fein/lefties cried and said we were doomed. A few weeks later, the EU strikes a deal which has resulted in some good news for Ireland and news that you were all told would happen.

    We all know that Ireland doesn’t – regardless of who was in power – have a strong hand to play in Europe. We are a small country. We needed the support of bigger countries who have more power and more say to get a decent deal and move Europe in a right direction. We have been asking, demanding, pleading, trying and while movement was in our favour – it was going very slow until others started to back us. We had some concessions already, and once again we have more.

    Great day. Great news. No doubt it will be spun here completely different.

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  • ireland citizens use credit cards only. that way we dont have to worry about the euro and the banks wont need cash

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