Dear Sir or Madam,

On November 26th/27th, using their Private Member’s Bill slot, the Technical Group will introduce the following Motion to Dáil Éireann:

“That Dáil Eireann calls on the Government to immediately lobby the ECB for a one-off exemption from the monetary financing to allow the Central Bank of Ireland destroy the €25bn in sovereign bonds issued in February of this year in lieu of the remaining Promissory Notes (PNs), plus the €3.06bn bond also being held by Central Bank of Ireland, payment for the 2012 Promissory Note; also, to further lobby the ECB that all interest payments currently being made on those bonds should end and that all Promissory Notes-related debt be cancelled in its entirety.”

This motion reflects proposal number one of three for bank-debt write-off for Ireland, as produced by the Ballyhea/Charleville campaign group. Since March 6th 2011, we have held a weekly protest march in our own communities against the imposition of that debt on the Irish people, and we have since been joined by many other communities who now hold similar weekly protest marches.

The most odious element of the entire €69.7bn debt is the €31bn Promissory Notes which are still very much alive and well in the form of the Sovereign Bonds now held by the Central Bank and about to be sold on, possibly to the very institutions that were bailed out by the original promissory notes.

The key points to remember about those notes:

• They were issued to two institutions (Anglo and INBS) that were already doomed, should have been wound up in 2010;

• At that stage the EU and ECB were heavily involved and in fact the decision to save those banks was ultimately theirs;

• They took that decision because they feared contagion across the European banking institutions if the two banks were allowed fail, feared in fact for the survival of the Euro itself;

• The legality of Brian Lenihan’s decision was questionable, is being tested in the courts at the moment;

• The legality of the ECB’s decision is also questionable, the use of the Emergency Liquidity Assistance Fund which specifically prohibits use of that fund to bail out insolvent banks – any argument that the two banks involved weren’t just that, insolvent, is spurious in the extreme;

• This was then a European solution to a European problem but the entire burden for that debt has been imposed on Ireland;

• The deal that was done by Michael Noonan last February did not put an end to the Promissory Notes; the €25bn in Sovereign Bonds that were issued to buy out the PNs are now scheduled to be sold on to the financial markets and that €25bn, as it’s taken in by the Central Bank, will then still be destroyed, every cent;

• The Promissory Note debt, in its entirety, still remained but what Minister Noonan did was he eased the burden on this government for the remainder of its term, transferred that entire burden – plus interest – to the next generation, and the generation after;

• We believe that burden should be lifted, immediately;

• We have already left a terrible legacy to future generations, the least we can do for them now is fight against this imposition;

• The long-term savings are obvious but there are also immediate benefits. Currently, we are paying approximately €300m per annum in interest to Europe on the Promissory Notes (the €25bn from last February, the €6bn already borrowed for the 2011/12 PNs); those payments should cease, now.

This is an issue of critical national importance which is why the Technical Group – even with all its internal differences of political opinion – has decided to unite behind it. We are calling on every individual and on every group/union/organisation to do likewise. Meet at the gates of the Dáil at 6pm on November 27th, add your voice to those inside who will speak on our behalf in support of that motion.

This country needs a break, the young people of this country especially need a break. This is a start.

Regards,

Diarmuid O’Flynn,

Shinanagh,

Ballyhea.