Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has congratulated Limerick’s Minister Michael Noonan for delivering a €1.5billion reduction in Ireland’s debt which he negotiated with EU Leaders and the IMF.
“This latest development which Michael Noonan has negotiated is a further improvement on the economic picture for the country and is another step in dismantling the agreement on Ireland’s bank debt which the last government had signed us up to.”
“In his time as Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has now managed to get a reduction on the interest rate being charged on our debt, has gotten rid of the promissory note, has wound up Anglo Irish Bank and IBRC and has now restructured our debts with the IMF. These were all left over from by the last Government after the economic collapse, and while there is still work to be done there is no doubt but that the leadership that Michael Noonan has provided has been key to the improvements that have been made.”
Patrick O’Donovan also paid tribute to Michael Noonan’s work locally. He gave examples of the independence for Shannon Airport, the designation of Foynes Port, job announcements in the City and County, the designation of City of Culture, the amalgamation of Limerick City and County Council’s as examples of why it was vital to have the Finance portfolio here in Limerick.
Deputy O’Donovan said that the criticism of the Government’s progress on the economy was shallow and he said that the Sinn Fein/Fianna Fail/Independent alternative had shown that they had no plan for the country other than tax and spend.
“Sinn Fein, Fianna Fáil and the Independent’s have a simple plan of promising to spend money that they know can only be raised by further borrowing would prove disastrous for us all, would undo all the sacrifices of ordinary Irish people over the last three years and would be a one way ticket back to the Troika. That’s why the work of Michael Noonan must continue in the Department of Finance, to get the conditions right so that more people can get a job here, that they can have a good standard of living and as a result that the Government can be allowed to invest in good locally delivered services for all the people.”