Ministers urged to rule out Ireland bailout

18th November 2010

The government has been urged to "rule out" participating in any possible bailout for Ireland.

Conservative backbencher Peter Bone said eurozone countries should be responsible for assisting Ireland, arguing that UK contributions to Europe should not increase at a time cuts to public spending.

Bone, a well known eurosceptic, told MPs the EU should be seeking to support Ireland in trying to do the right thing, adding: "Instead the EU has undermined them and created a crisis."

In response to an urgent question from Bone on Wednesday, financial secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban emphasised that the country has insisted it does not need a bailout.

But the minister repeated the government's pledge to support Ireland in its bid to restore economic stability.

Shadow Treasury minister Chris Leslie argued that Ireland's problems illustrated the dangers of a "one-track economic strategy built around austerity alone".

Any future financial rescue package for Ireland must address underlying economic problems rather than act as a "sticking plaster", he told the chamber.

Hoban said it would be "inappropriate" to speculate about what may or may not happen, given that there had been no formal request from Dublin for help.

"It's not for me to say whether they should request assistance, just as I would not tell them how to run any part of their economy," Hoban said.

"They obviously have large financial institutions that have got themselves into difficulty. We very much hope they will be able to resolve these pressures.

"Ireland is one of our biggest export markets. We have very close economic ties with them. And as the chancellor said this morning, it is in Britain's national interest that the Irish economy is successful.

"So we stand ready to support Ireland in the steps it needs to take to bring about stability."

Bill Cash (Con, Stone) and chair of the European scrutiny committee said the £440bn eurozone facility can be "used without infringing either UK liability or sovereignty".

He added: "The Darling guarantee mechanism with QMV involves unnecessarily both UK liability and sovereignty. Where it is in our national interest and we can afford it why not provide a UK-Irish but non-EU loan?"

In response the minister said no request had been made for assistance and it would be "inappropriate to make any further comments".

Former Cabinet minister John Redwood (Con, Wokingham) asked whether the UK government should be support the Irish government and resist the "foolish German intervention, trying to use this as part of a power grab for the EU".

Hoban replied: "Britain stands ready to support Ireland in the steps that it needs to take to bring about stability."

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