ECB President Mario Draghi has said the existing terms of the contract for Anglo Irish bank promissory notes will not be changed.
However, he said the ECB had taken certain steps and was continuing to reflect on the issue with "a forthcoming attitude."
Speaking before the European Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee, Mr Draghi also warned of challenges to the economy and said that the restructuring of the banking sector needed to be complete.
In response to a question from Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell, Mr Draghi said: "Will the ECB do anything to the existing terms of the contract? The answer is no. The existing terms of the contract are the terms of the contract.
"We have undertaken certain steps, we will continue to reflect on this issue with a forthcoming attitude. At the present time we have the terms of the contract."
Mr Draghi said that Ireland had shown a "strong commitment" to uphold the bailout programme and everything the Government had done so far was to put the fiscal policy on a sustainable path and to continue financial sector reform.
However, he said that "challenges" remained and that the restructuring of the banking sector needed to be completed.
"Bank balance sheets need to be strengthened and Ireland needs to regain market access," he said.
