Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
234 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance when he expects progress will be made on restructuring the Anglo Irish Bank promissory notes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17602/12]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware the Government has been committed to reviewing the arrangements that were put in place to capitalise IBRC — formerly Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide. The purpose of this review is to determine if there was a way to reduce the overall cost to the State. Part of the capitalisation of IBRC was provided using promissory notes as consideration. While the development in relation to the end March Promissory Note payment is positive, we must continue to work towards the greater benefits which would derive from the re-engineering of the promissory note. There are potential improvements for the banking sector which could also stem from the ongoing technical discussions.
It is for these reasons that we must look at the recent developments as an initial step in a process. This is a the medium term project. The Government is focused on developing an alternative solution to the promissory note arrangement in IBRC. We want to arrive at a successful conclusion that is in the interests of Ireland and the EU.
235 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the recent ECB meeting of central bank governors; if the restructuring of the Anglo promissory notes was on the agenda of the meeting and the outcome of any such discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17601/12]
View answerAs Minister for Finance, I do not attend these meetings. The Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Mr Patrick Honohan attended the recent ECB meeting of Central Bank Governors. The Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland has since appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform on Tuesday 27 March 2012. Pursuant to Section 19A (2) of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended (the "1942 Act"), the Governor has sole responsibility for the performance of the functions imposed, and the exercise of powers conferred, on the Bank by or under the Rome Treaty or the statute of the European System of Central Banks (the "ESCB") and of the ECB (the "ESCB Statute").
Article 10 of the ESCB Statute outlines the operation of the Governing Council. Key provisions to note are, (a) Article 10.1 of the ESCB Statute which states that the Governing Council shall comprise the members of the Executive Board of the ECB and the governors of the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro, (b) Article 10.2 which outlines the voting mechanisms of the Governing Council and (c) Article 10.4 which provides that the proceedings of Governing Council meetings shall be confidential, however the Governing Council may decide to make the outcome of its deliberations public.
It should be noted that in carrying out the functions of the Bank imposed by the ESCB Statute, the Governor is subject to Article 7 of the ESCB Statute which provides that "neither the ECB, nor a national central bank, nor any member of their decision-making bodies shall seek or take instructions from Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body".
