The Government will be forced into a Dáil vote tonight on whether to make next month’s repayment of the IBRC promissory notes.
The next €3.1bn instalment falls due on March 31. A deal to ease the burden by extending payments over a longer period has already fallen on deaf ears at the ECB.
As a result, Independent TD Shane Ross has tabled a motion demanding that the Government default on its payments.
However, Junior Minister for Finance Brian Hayes said: "We are in receipt of substantial support from the EU mechanisms, which provides funding at rates well below those which would be available if we were to fund ourselves…It should be clear that European solidarity is in our interests and to our benefit."