The Finance Minister is beginning two days of meetings in Brussels today, in the latest round of efforts to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis.
Michael Noonan and his European counterparts are aiming to firm up the rescue response, ahead of a wider leaders summit next week.
They’ll also discuss the ongoing effort to relieve the debt burden weighing on the Greek economy, and avoid default.
Meanwhile, the Government has defended its plan to pay bondholders at Anglo Irish Bank 1.2-billion euro this week.
The Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said the troika of the EU, ECB and the IMF warned the government that failure to pay the bondholders would set off a financial bomb in Dublin and lead to higher utility bills and mortgages for everyone.
Mr Varadkar said any decision to burn bondholders would impact on Ireland’s reputation, increase borrowing costs for banks and semi-state companies, and ultimately lead to higher mortgages and household bills.
+
+
