The Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has said she cannot understand why Ireland would "walk a financial tightrope" without the safety net of the European Stability Mechanism fund.

The main argument for a Yes vote in the Fiscal Treaty Referendum is the threat that if we don’t pass it we may not get any future loans from the European Stability Mechanism fund, a mantra that Minister Simon Coveney repeats in his recent letter (Apr 28).