IMF official quiet on calls for Irish debt write-down

The International Monetary Fund has refused to comment on calls for Ireland to be given a debt write-down if any deal is struck with Greece, after the opposition urged action to be taken on the issue.

IMF mission chief to Ireland, Craig Beaumont, declined to be drawn on the issue during a briefing which heard him call for cuts to universal child benefit and restraint in public service pay rise talks later this year.

Speaking on Raidío na Gaeltachta earlier in the day, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the fallout from the recent elections in Greece means there is a clear need for a “European debt conference” to discuss a “fundamental change in the European policy on debt”.