Michael Noonan called to quit over ECB threat remarks

Finance Minister Michael Noonan was called on yesterday to resign after he was accused of misleading the Dáil about threats made to him by the former head of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Social Democrats TD Stephen Donnelly made the call of Mr Noonan after a clear contradiction emerged between comments the minister made to the Dáil in 2011 and testimony he gave to the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry.

In November 2011, during Dáil exchanges with Mr Donnelly, Mr Noonan repeatedly and categorically denied he and Ireland had been threatened by Jean Claude Trichet, the then ECB president over the finance minister’s plans to burn senior bondholders.