European Union finance ministers are meeting in Brussels on a controversial element to the proposed new European banking union.
Under the Irish presidency of the EU, the talks will focus on how failing banks should in the future be wound up and who would be responsible for meeting losses.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan wants a hierarchy of creditors to cover losses, including in the final instance depositors with amounts over €100,000.
Mr Noonan is chairing the Brussels meeting.
At present, 27 member states operate different rules on what happens if a bank fails.
Read Europe Editor Tony Connelly's blog on the road to a banking union
Since the ECB will be responsible for supervising banks from the summer of next year, the architects of banking union insist common rules are needed for situations when Frankfurt deems a bank to be in trouble.
Until now, and most graphically in Ireland, taxpayers have had to bailout banks, but under new rules creditors will be expected to take losses.
While all depositors with holdings of under €100,000 will be exempt, those with holdings over that amount may become liable under an Irish presidency proposal.
That was highly controversial in the case of Cyprus, but officials insist that by the time other creditors have absorbed losses, starting with shareholders and moving on to unsecured and secured bondholders, then depositors' losses would be minimal.
Under the proposal the financial sector would have to build up reserve funds over a number of years to cover the losses.
However, how that is to be done, and the effect it could have on an already struggling sector, is still a matter for debate.
