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Kenny in call for bank debt burden share

Monday, March 11 14:29:10

The Taoiseach today called on his European counterparts to support a deal on Ireland's debt, saying that, because the Irish policy for dealing with our bank debt was dictated from Europe, so Europe must share some of the burden.

Speaking at the Mansion House in the heart of London's financial district, Mr Kenny said the actions of Frankfurt and Brussels over Ireland's banking debt compounded the errors of the previous Fianna Fail government.

"The principle that there can be no shared European taxpayer responsibility for banks without shared control and supervision is reasonable," he said.

"But the corollary must also be true; where the policy for dealing with bank failures was determined at European - and not national - level, so too must the burden of the legacy costs of those policies."

Hr added that that Irish banks "need to accelerate the work-out of mortgage arrears and other non-performing loans", saying that he hoped for progress on the issue this week.

Such changes, he said, would "give confidence to investors and visibility and hope to the tens of thousands of families and small businesses in debt difficulties".

Mr Kenny will meet his British counterpart later this afternoon.