Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is the key point that should inform the decision as to whether we want a backstop. It is clear the IMF and the ECB would have preferred that the country seek such a backstop arrangement. The ESM and the precautionary credit line system and approach is to support countries whose finances are becoming economically sound. It is not a sign of weakness, it is to seek maximum security for the State. There are headwinds out there. As the former deputy chief executive of the IMF said, it is not that we might crash into somebody but somebody else might crash into us. It is fundamentally an insurance policy for the benefit of the people and the country. That is the issue. Let us not dress it up in any political high drama.

There was a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday when the Government could easily have made the decision instead of having a hurriedly arranged meeting today, and a hurriedly arranged meeting of the Dáil and the presentation of the issues.

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