SINN Fein councillor Maurice Quinlivan has cited this week’s statement from former IMF mission chief Ashoka Mody as evidence that Minister for Finance Michael Noonan missed a golden opportunity to do a deal on Ireland’s banking debt.
Speaking on national radio this Monday, Mr Mody said Ireland should have gotten a superior deal in 2011. Asked if the Ireland missed an opportunity to strike a deal, Mr Mody said “absolutely”.
“There was a burden of debt that would legitimately be declared as an odious debt,” the Indian economist added.
Limerick City North councillor Maurice Quinlivan now insists that this failure by the government to get more debt relief when they came into office led to much greater austerity, the continued collapse of our domestic economy, further job losses and a prolonged period of recession.
“Worse still, when you examine the debt repayments to come in the next five years you see that by 2020 we probably will have to pay back €27 billion in repayments of our national debt in that year alone,” said Cllr Quinlivan.
“That is the ultimate legacy of Michael Noonan and this government — a failure to negotiate debt write downs that will leave a further generation to come in hock for most of their working lives,” he fumed.
The leader of Sinn Fein on Limerick City and County Council went on to claim that Mr Mody’s statement is highly embarrassing for Minister Noonan.
“We have been smothered in bluff and spin from the Minister in recent times about the great recovery that is underway — a recovery marked by water charges, hospital trolleys and JobBridge schemes. Thankfully the people will get to have their say on this so called recovery in the coming year,” he commented.
The Finance Minister has dismissed the former IMF mission chief’s comments that the government blew an opportunity for a debt writedown deal.
Minister Noonan said that when Mr Mody was in Ireland and was in a position to do something he “didn’t do much for us”.
“So his advice now that he’s no longer in a position of influence we’ll be taking lightly,” he declared.
