THE SUM that Slovakia will have to guarantee as part of a loan to Ireland is still to be determined, Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš told journalists on November 24.
“It is one percent of a sum which has not been specified yet,” the SITA newswire quoted him as saying. “The [uncertainty exists] because technical talks between Europe’s financial safety net – the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ireland are still underway.”
Media reports suggested that the loan to Ireland from the EFSF, which also includes the IMF and the European Commission as well as the eurozone member states, should be between €80 billion and €90 billion. Mikloš said it is not true that the burden of assistance will fall solely on the shoulders of taxpayers.
“Clear rules need to be defined for involvement of the private sector or restructuring of the debt or burden of costs to be borne by the banking and financial sector,” said Mikloš, as quoted by SITA.
According to Mikloš, Ireland, unlike Greece, has a competitive economy, has never lied about its public finances and has always kept its public debt low.
“Banks pose the fundamental problem since the real estate and financial bubble, which was inflated in Ireland, was too big,” Mikloš said. “The government made a mistake by guaranteeing fully and without restrictions all bank deposits and thus assuming the costs incurred by the bubble’s bursting.”
