Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton says nobody can predict whether Ireland will need access to the European Stability Mechanism.

She said it would be irresponsible of the Government not to secure access to the EU's new bailout fund, which she maintained could only be achieved by ratifying the fiscal treaty.

Earlier, Ms Creighton reportedly said there was "quite a strong possibility" that Ireland would not be able to access the international markets for funding next year.

Her comments came at a breakfast meeting organised by ''Women for a Yes Vote''.

Meanwhile, Declan Ganley of Libertas has claimed that the European Stability Mechanism does not have enough money in it to bail everyone out.

He said there was nothing in the fiscal treaty designed to purge bad bank debt, which is what is crippling the eurozone.

Mr Ganley also criticised what he called the "group think" evident in Irish politics, with the three biggest parties supporting the treaty.

Elsewhere, the United Left Alliance has accused the Labour Party of betraying its election promises by supporting austerity policies.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the party had said it was ''Frankfurt's way or Labour's way'' but was now pursuing the austerity policies of the ECB.

Speaking at a photo call outside Labour Party Headquarters in Dublin, he said the ESM the Government kept talking about was not a good thing, but would lead to further austerity.

Socialist Party TD Clare Daly said there had been a huge amount of scaremongering by the Government, and that the Government could veto the ESM.

She said the Government kept asking the No side to show them where money would come from if the treaty was rejected, but the Government should show where the cuts were to come from.

Elsewhere, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney accused opponents of the treaty of misleading the public over access to emergency funding.

Mr Coveney said the only way Ireland could access the European Stability Mechanism was if it ratified the treaty.

Mr Coveney, who is Fine Gael's director of elections for the referendum, said the No side were unable to explain how they would fund the country if it could not access the ESM and were trying to mislead people to cover this up.

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach is to make a televised address on the fiscal treaty on Sunday.

A Government spokesman said Mr Kenny had been invited to make the address by RTÉ to respond to Gerry Adams, whose leaders' address to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis will be televised on Saturday.

The spokesman said it was unprecedented for an ard fheis to be held so close to a referendum or election.

He said the length of Mr Kenny's address would depend on how much of Mr Adams' speech is devoted to discussing the treaty.

The Taoiseach's address will be broadcast at 5.50pm.

In a statement this evening, Mr Adams said: "This is an entirely artificial situation which arises from the fact that Mr Kenny refuses to engage directly with myself in a proper debate on the Austerity Treaty.

"The Taoiseach himself has emphasised the importance of the choice that voters will make on 31 May. It would better for everyone concerned therefore, not least the voting public, for An Taoiseach to agree to such a debate."

RTÉ Guide to the Fiscal Treaty
Fiscal Treaty - Your Questions