The government will begin efforts today to salvage a deal with the European Central Bank on Ireland's Anglo debt.
The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has warned that failure to conclude an agreement would be "catastrophic" for Ireland.
International news agency Reuters reported at the weekend that the ECB had rejected Ireland's proposal to avoid making a €3.1bn payment on the Anglo Promissory notes at the end of March.
But the government knows that the EU needs a success story if the austerity agenda is to proceed - and it is using that as its trump card to try and secure a deal before the promissory note payment is due.