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Enda confident of Anglo note deal by Mar

Tuesday, January 29 17:20:08

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dail today that he is confident Ireland can get a deal on the annual Anglo promissory note payments by March when E3.1 billion is due to be paid out.

However, he admitted that his Government faces challenges in securing an agreement with the European Central Bank on a deal to avert the annual payment.

He told the Dail that discussions on a securing a deal to avert the repayment - with the next one due in 60 days' time - would be challenging, saying the current arrangements were "not an easy situation to unravel".

"If this were a simple issue to untangle, it would have been done long ago," the Taoiseach said.

Answering questions from Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin, Mr Kenny said the government had been seeking to discuss "the source of funding, the duration of the notes, the interest rates applicable, and all of that," with the ECB.

"I've been very clear in saying that what we want to do, effectively, is restructure and re-engineer this" from a "high interest rate overdraft to a long-term, low interest rate mortgage."

The Taoiseach said he 'expected' a conclusion to these talks by the end of March.