Ireland may accept ban on EU aid for non-treaty countries

THE Government could accept a ban on Ireland and other eurozone countries accessing the EU’s aid fund if they do not adopt the new treaty, according to Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

He had a wide-ranging discussion in Berlin with his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, ahead of Monday’s Eurogroup meeting, where most of the outstanding details will be thrashed out.

The current draft says that any country that does not adopt the treaty would not be eligible for aid from the European Stability Mechanism — the rescue fund due to replace the current one, possibly in July.