The EU institutions, collectively, must be getting a bit tired of the Irish electorate having a veto on future developments within the EU, be it via our mandatory system of referenda on any EU Treaty Changes, or now the need for some democratic legitimacy for the IMF/ECB plan - two institutions not noted for their sensitivity to the views of nations requiring their assistance.

Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny and finance spokesman Michael Noonan met European Commission president José Manuel Barroso today where they raised the reopening of the terms of the EU-IMF loans.

Yesterday the party said it was "seriously considering" drawing up an amendment that, if adopted, would enshrine a "debt brake" clause in the Irish constitution if it would lead to a lower interest rate on the bailout.

Such a clause would bar budget deficits above a certain threshold. It would place considerable additional pressure on Governments to cut spending and/or raise taxes if the stability of the public finances appeared to be at risk.

However, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said any renegotiation of the terms of the EU-IMF bailout should only happen on the basis of a mandate given by the people in the forthcoming general election.

Mr Gilmore was adamant the Irish constitution should not be amended in order to satisfy the suggestions of others, such as German chancellor Angela Merkel, who hinted countries introducing debt brake clauses could receive more favourable lending terms

Signs also emerged that Berlin may be softening its opposition to increasing the size of the €440 billion European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

A German discussion paper from Ms Merkel's office proposes a euro zone pact to improve competitiveness by targeting European states' wage costs, public finances and corporate taxation.

It says the most urgent measures to improve competitiveness should be agreed in a package to be implemented within a year and the pact could be enforced by financial sanctions.

Measures could include other countries imitating Germany's "debt brake" law enforcing fiscal discipline, and changing the retirement age, where German is moving towards retirement at 67 while euro zone partners like Greece and France retire earlier.

Such suggestions are in line with Germany's insistence that any boost to the euro bailout fund, as proposed by Mr Barroso and resisted by Berlin, be strictly in the context of a comprehensive reform packag

"I understand that it is only with a mandate from the people that we will be in a position to negotiate this matter. I also know that there are (economic) difficulties for other EU countries and we fully understand the requirement for European co-operation and support."

The Fine Gael leader continued: "We came here to send a clear signal about where we stand and I outlined the programme that Fine Gael wants to put to the people."

The two men refused to give any details about the scale of interest rate reduction they wanted to see to ease the repayment burden, but Mr Noonan explained:

"If the interest rates doesn't change, the debt burden will nevertheless be manageable -- but if the rate comes down, it increases the potential for growth and getting our people back to work."

He said a March summit of EU leaders would be looking at the interest rate schedule as part of a new permanent bail-out mechanism to apply to any future ailing economies in Europe after the current temporary system expires in 2013.

What Ireland was seeking was for any lower interest rate applicable for post-2013 bail-out, to be applied retroactively to the current bail-out deal for the Irish.

European Commission officials gave no clue as to whether that could be possible - pointing out that protocol means that any negotiations with a member state are carried out by the government in office.

Mr Noonan acknowledged that any new Irish government might not be in place when the new bail-out system, and its interest rate, is discussed at the March summit.

Gerry Adam's populist pitch is to blame the EU

With Irish elections coming up soon, parties are frantically seeking to get their campaign together. While Fianna Fail is descending into chaos after further MPs' resignations, Gerry Adams, party leader of the Sinn Féin, is making the headlines by pitching to voters that no citizen should have to pay for the "sins of the bankers". Adams said that the bailout package negotiated with the EU and IMF was a bailout for rich bond-holders in France and Germany (BBC news)  and that his party, in government, would tell the IMF (and the EU) "to go home and take their money with them", close Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, and amalgamate AIB and Bank of Ireland while depositors would be protected by legislation, (Irish Times).

In the Irish Independent Brendan Keenan finds that Gerry Adams thoughtless comments finally made people realise that the EU/ IMF rescue funds saved them from unimaginable disaster;  and that there is a price to pay, and the borrower's freedom of action in such circumstances is limited.