Seismic decision on debt must be taken

In June the Government trumpeted that a decision had been taken which would, in principle, greatly alleviate the Irish debt position.

This decision was, we were told, “seismic”. Thus far, in seismic parlance, the “event” has proven to be more Richter scale 2 than Richter scale 10.

Since the summer, it has been clear that the real event preoccupying the European Parliament is when, rather than if, Spain will be forced into seeking a bailout. As the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone, Spain is too big to ignore.