Noonan seeks ‘ambitious’ move on bank debt

The Government hopes to have a deal in place by budget day that would see most if not all the country’s bank debt taken off the books, and refinanced with cheap, long-term money.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan made his pitch at last night’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels, asking for further talks in the autumn.

He said while it would be ideal if agreement was reached by budget day in early December, it could not be finalised until a European banking supervisor was in place.