Michael Noonan on Pat Kenny’s radio show on Friday to talk about that deal.

And the legality of the promissory notes.

Pat Kenny: “So what changed? Why did the ECB then change it’s mind about the whole principle of this which, I think, was described as, Philip Boucher Hayes reported from Frankfurt, or he was talking to people in Frankfurt. They described it as barely legal.”

Michael Noonan: “Well I don’t think that’s right you see. The legal people would say that the existing promissory note arrangement was totally contrary to…”

Kenny: “Illegal?”

Noonan: “Totally, you know.”

[Kenny laughs]

Noonan: “So any, I mean my argument all the time was…”

Kenny: “So it’s an improvement in its legality?”

Noonan: “Yeah. I mean people, some of the bank people were saying to me was ‘look what you’re saying is illegal’. I said, or I used to say to them, well it’s an awful lot more legal than what you agreed three years ago.”
Noonan laughs.

Kenny: “Last night [unintelligible] on RTÉ Radio said, from America, she was talking, she said it’s amazing how many things in the EU, or the Eurozone that are illegal until someone does them and then they become OK.”

Noonan: “Yeah, there’s a touch of that about it.”

Hmm.

Thanks Soundmigration and Sam Browne