It is anticipated that technical talks in Dublin between the Government and officials from the EU and IMF on Ireland's four-year budgetary plan and the banking sector will be completed before the Budget, Minister Mary Hanafin has said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, Ms Hanafin said a contingency fund may be one of the options being examined.
She said the Government's aim was to protect the taxpayer and that a resolution would not be at any cost.
The Minister for Finance earlier told the Dáil that if a substantial contingency fund arose from talks with the IMF and the EU it would be a 'very desirable outcome' - but he said they were not at that point yet.
Brian Lenihan also said that if the Government had been reticent in public comment about contact with our European partners and the International Monetary Fund, it had been to protect the taxpayer.
He said it was the job of the Government to protect the taxpayer and that is what it is doing.
EC president says no pressure on Ireland
President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso has said the Commission was not putting pressure on Ireland to resort to EU financial help, but added that it must act speedily due to a very specific problem in the banking sector.
The Taoiseach again insisted that the Government was not involved in negotiations on a bailout.
Today's talks follow two days of discussions in Brussels involving eurozone and EU finance ministers on a way forward for Ireland.
While the Government had attempted to draw a distinction between emergency aid for the banks and for the State, it is being reported this morning that there is now a reluctant acceptance that any funding for the banks will have to be drawn by the State.
A further priority will be to preserve Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax. But already there is pressure on that front with the Austrian finance minister saying there needed to be talks with the Irish Government about the issue.
However, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Innovation Batt O'Keeffe has again insisted that Ireland's corporate tax rate is not an issue for consultation or negotiation as part of the talks with IMF and EU officials.
Meanwhile, Seán Power, Fianna Fáil TD for Kildare South, has said the Government failed the people by its inability to explain the current financial and economic situation.
Mr Power told the Dáil last night that a game of semantics was being played in the past week, which he said was a poor one for the Government.
He claimed ministers had treated people as if they could not understand the complexities of the financial situation that we are in
He said our problems did not relate to budgetary matters but they were problems of a structural nature in the banking sector.
The minister said the IMF, ECB and the European Commission were here to look at what shape a financial package might take and there was no question of loading an unspecified burden on the taxpayer.
He again defended the bank guarantee saying the governor had defended it this morning and the European finance ministers have agreed it was the correct strategy at the time.
The minister has moved to reassure the public that all deposits in Irish banks are 'safe and secure'.
Mr Lenihan began his contribution on the banking crisis by saying there had been misinformed, inaccurate and misleading comments about the guarantee.
He said it had been extended by a vote of the House yesterday.
Fine Gael’s Finance Spokesman described the Government's banking strategy as 'disastrous' and accused it of pursuing it in the teeth of opposition.
Michael Noonan said the Government was an embarrassment to the Irish people and the Governor of the Central Bank felt the onus to come out and explain to the Irish people what was happening.
He called for those who lent recklessly to share the burden of the cost of the banking woes.
He said we now had an answer to the New York Times' editorial question - 'Could a bank bring down a country?'.
Mr Noonan welcomed the minister's clarification on the banking guarantee, saying he had been contacted by constituents asking him if they should open sterling accounts and move their money.
He accused the minister of moving his position on negotiations with holders of senior debt saying the minister initially indicated legal advice had informed him that they could not be negotiated with. That position was now changing, he said.
