The next annual repayment of €3.1 billion of the €30 billion debt incurred in order to shore up the former Anglo Irish Bank falls due on March 31st.

Yesterday Mr Gilmore refused to confirm or deny if he told European leaders in private last week that the Coalition might collapse in the event of a deal not being reached.

Asked in Brussels about reports he had privately voiced the warning to German chancellor Angela Merkel, commission president José Manuel Barroso and council president Herman Van Rompuy during a recent EU Latin America summit, Mr Gilmore would only say: “The future of the Irish Government is a matter for the Irish Government and the Irish people.”

A senior Government source said the the details of a private meeting could not be divulged but pointed to recent comments made by the Tánaiste on the matter, including his description of the “catastrophic” consequences of a failure.

Tensions are….(yawn)….running high.