THIS IS A CRITICAL time for discussion on the payment of the promissory notes, the Tánaiste has said.

The government is due to repay €3.06 billion to the Central Bank of Ireland, via the former Anglo Irish Bank, in March. However, it is seeking to replace the note with a long-term sovereign bond instead.

Arriving for talks in Brussels today, the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said:

This is a critical period of time for the discussion on the payment of the promissory notes and what the Government is seeking to do is secure the best deal for Ireland and the Irish tax payer.

He added that the future of the Irish government “is a matter for the Irish government and the Irish people”.

Europe

He made the comments while arriving for the General Affairs Council meeting which he is chairing in Brussels today.  This meeting is on the issues to be considered at the European Council meeting at the end of this week.

Deputy Gilmore said that on the agenda for today’s meeting is the Multi-annual Financial Framework, and that he is having a meeting this morning with negotiators from the European Parliament because the role of the European Parliament is very important in this framework.

He added that whether or not agreement is reached by the end of the week will depend on the specific proposals that are put by President Herman Van Rompuy, and he is meeting with him for lunch today on the issue.

The European Council meeting will also deal with the issue of trade and that is one of the main items on the agenda, said Gilmore. He added that the priority for the Irish presidency is that it negotiates trade agreements with a number of the European Union’s strategic partners.

The estimate is that the negotiation of the trade agreement could add about two per cent to the GDP of the European economy and have the potential to create about 2 million jobs. So from a presidency point of view because we have put such an emphasis on work that will generate employment and grow economy, trade agreements are very important.

Read: Everything you need to know about the promissory notes, but were afraid to ask>

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