Kenny 'most partisan' Taoiseach - FF

THE FIANNA Fáil leader accused the Taoiseach of “being one of the most tribal and partisan holders” of his office during sharp exchanges.

Micheál Martin said he wanted to remind Enda Kenny “he voted for the bank guarantee himself and he had a conversation with the then minister for finance, the late Brian Lenihan, on the bank guarantee and the rationale for it”.

Mr Martin added: “The Taoiseach gave him clear approval to go ahead to do what he had to do.

“Everybody knows the fundamental rationale at the time was articulated publicly in the context of the question of liquidity in the banking system.” Mr Kenny said he had no file in his department on the bank guarantee other than acknowledgments and faxes that were irrelevant to the central issue of what happened on that particular night.

“It was the single, most fundamental economic decision ever made about our people, where the then government landed €64 billion on the backs of the Irish people,” he added.

Earlier, the Taoiseach said the Government was looking for a deal on bank debt because the bank-bailout was unfair to the Irish people.

“That was applied following panic and desperation and the imposition of the blanket guarantee by a previous administration,” he said.

“Some people might not like to hear that but it is important that it is not forgotten.” Mr Kenny said that the focus and the intensity of the discussions by every minister at European level spoke for itself.

He added that he had not heard Mr Martin say that the joint communique with the German chancellor, or the statement by the French president, were meaningless and harmful to the country, “like he said over the weekend in a classic observation of shallow opportunism”.

Mr Martin replied: “I did issue a statement and I will also issue a very substantive statement tomorrow.” Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the truth was that no deal was done and no agreement reached on bank debt in June. “Would it be sensible to make it clear also that a deal was not done on legacy debt in June?” he added.

Mr Kenny said the decision of June 29th was “a seismic shift because it was a major move from a European policy point of view”.

Shane Ross (Ind) warned that Ireland could become a victim of internal German politics.

“The Taoiseach alone is in a unique position as he was on the telephone call to Angela Merkel on Sunday,” he added.

“He can tell us whether he asked her if there was any question of writing off legacy debt and, if so, what was her answer to that particular problem.” Mr Kenny said Ireland was now in a position, in respect of the break between the sovereign and bank debt, where a date had been set for the legal framework, the mandate given to the euro group and there was now a recognition at the highest level that the unique circumstances that applied to Ireland would be taken into account.