The Minister for Finance has indicated that Ireland will attempt to return to the bond markets in the second half of next year.
Michael Noonan said the NTMA intends to 'put its toe in the market' in the third quarter of 2012.
Responding to questions from Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty in the Dáil, Mr Noonan said it would be worth going back into the market when the 10-year bond yield falls below the 5.8% interest rate being charged by the EU/IMF on the bailout package.
Deputy Doherty pointed out that the 10-year yield was at 10.7% this morning and he said he agreed with comments by Minister Leo Varadkar last week that Ireland would need a second bailout.
He asked the Minister about a 'Plan B' if Ireland did not return to the bond markets by the second half of 2013.
Mr Noonan said that he had credibility and warned Mr Doherty against making such statements about a need for a second bailout.
Fianna Fáil Deputy Michael McGrath said the Minister had changed his position on when Ireland would need to go back to the markets to get funding.
He said Mr Noonan was now talking about Ireland being fully funded up until the second half of 2013, contrary to previous comments about the country being funded by the EU and IMF into 2014.
The Minister said he was giving an 'absolutely prudent' assessment and that the country was not in a 'difficult fiscal position'.
He said there was no question of the sovereign requesting additional funding during 2011 or 2012.
Mr Noonan also said a swift decision on a reduction of the interest rate on the EU/IMF loan is in the interest of Ireland and the wider European Union, but ruled out 'point blank' a change in corporation tax rate in return for any reduction.
He said the value of the interest rate reduction was being exaggerated.
He said if Ireland got the same reduction as Portugal, it would amount to a saving of €148m a year.
He contrasted this to a potential loss to the Exchequer of what he called the 'heart and soul of our industrial strategy', saying anyone who wanted Ireland to concede on the 12.5% tax rate had 'no negotiating position'.
He said there was no way he was going to 'waltzed around' by any member state on the corporation tax rate when the gain was so small.
Earlier, the president of the European Commission said there was a risk that the deepening crisis in Greece will affect Ireland's ability to return to financial markets to borrow money next year.
José Manuel Barroso was speaking to reporters in Brussels.
'We have seen in the past that, in fact, sometimes the markets react not only to a situation in one country, but they make some kind of generalisation, and so in fact some risks exist,' he said.
Mr Barroso said this was another reason for the EU to work with Greece to go ahead with its reforms and budgetary measures.
Also in Brussels, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn repeated that the commission favoured granting Ireland a lower interest rate on its loans under the EU/IMF bail-out programme.
'It makes sense to have the same kind of reduction for Ireland as for Greece or for Portugal, in the programme just agreed,' he said.
But he said a reduction remained to be decided, and that this required unanimous backing from member states.
