‘Clear and present danger’ averted in late-night rescue mission

DARKNESS still hung over Government buildings yesterday morning as the Government emerged from the meeting they hoped would prevent a bad dream from turning into a nightmare.

At 4am — three hours before the markets opened — an agreement was reached which Taoiseach Brian Cowen said saved the country from waking up to a failed banking system.

“An imminent, clear and present danger to the Irish financial sector” prompted the meeting, according to Defence Minister Willie O’Dea, who said this threat “could have resulted almost immediately in one if not more financial institutions going into difficulty.”