Noonan denies FG lied about burden sharing

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan has denied claims his party lied about forcing senior bondholders to foot bank losses as the opposition said ministers were reneging on their election pledges.

As Ireland’s debt rating fell even further, ministers conceded that the European Central Bank had told the Government to let senior bondholders escape paying for the latest bank bailout.

Mr Noonan defended the decision saying that if the Government had gone against ECB opinion, the move could have cut off the supply of cash for Irish banks.