You did hear Enda on BBC R4’s Today Show this morning didn’t you?
Listen here
Some highlights:
Evan Davis: “You’re talking to David Cameron today. Are you going to ask for lower interest on the British bilateral loan that’s part of the bailout?”
Enda Kenny: “Well obviously we’re very grateful to our colleagues here in Britain for the bilateral loan that they’ve made available. That would be nice. I think we’ll talk about the issues of continued development between Ireland and Britain, the very strong traditional links we have here, trading links, and where we want to be wit the British government in terms of developing our place in Europe and of course events to follow quickly with the visit of the queen, and the issue of Northern Ireland that we have to discuss and will discuss with the prime minister today.”
Davis: “Some say that you’re in a much stronger position in negotiations than perhaps most people realise because you could say, you could say, ‘hey guys don’t give us what we want and we will create mayhem across the eurozone by defaulting on our debts… we can’t cope and we won’t cope and the rest of europe would have to just lump it wouldn’t they?”
Kenny: “Well we have no intention of causing mayhem here.”
Davis: “No but you could, if they didn’t play ball.”
Kenny: “Well we’ve always been absolutely responsible and central to the entire European process since we joined in the ’70s. We supported every referendum that came along in terms of European treaties. We’re not looking for more money from Europe, we’re looking for less money but greater flexibility. And that’s where our pitch is. And that’s why in terms of the three fundamentals that affect Ireland at the moment – the banking sector, our financial problems at home and our job situation – they’re the three serious challenges for this government. And I see a day, and I’d like to see it happen as quickly as possible, where we can say goodbye to the IMF, go back to the bond markets, borrow at normal interest rates and be in charge again of our own economic sovereignty and our own economic destiny.”
On the queen’s visit:
Davis: “Are you confident it’s all about to go smoothly?”
Kenny: “I am, and the vast majority of Irish people will welcome very warmly the visit of the queen. It is the first visit of a reigning monarch in over a century. I’m very glad that at the at the closing months of the presidency of President McAleese, that her invitation to the queen was accepted by the palace, that it’s now going to happen. I think the visit has been very carefully structured.It’s in accordance with the wishes of both the president and the queen. The fact that the queen will visit both the Garden of Remembrance in Ireland and Islandbridge, which has direct links with World War I and so on speaks for itself. So from that point of view, ah, obviously I’ll discuss with the prime minister today the implications of security. The fact that I see this visit as being the conclusion of so many years and centuries of division and divisiveness and it puts up that pillar that we now build on for the future in building on the absolutely incredible links between Ireland and Britain for so many years.”