Dr. Barrett's main points were that there is very little in the Treaty that is not already contained in previous Treaties and Council decisions, and that the Treaty, through the establishment of the ESM, provides Ireland with an insurance policy in case we needed further funding after the current Troika led "bail-out" expires at the end of 2013.

And, like with most poorly regulated insurance schemes, the purchasers will find that the terms have been changed just before they needed the policy to pay out and in such a way that they either no longer qualify or that their payout is much less.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."