There were exchanges between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the Seanad over the Greek crisis. Mark Daly of Fianna Fáil said the attitude of some of the EU governments could be likened to that of Captain Bligh of the mutiny on the Bounty.

“When ordering some of the members of his crew to be given 50 lashes, he said the beatings would continue until morale improved. That is exactly what we are seeing in Europe where the EU and euro zone ministers are continuing to beat and punish Greece until its morale improves or it does what they want.”

Paul Coghlan of Fine Gael remarked: “That is a load of baloney.”

Mr Daly said Germany seemed to forget the 1953 London debt agreement whereby nearly 50 per cent of its debt was written off. “Greece might have incurred debt because of reckless spending but the Germans incurred the debt because they caused a world war, and yet they seem to be insisting that Greece would have to suffer the humiliation of a Versailles Treaty-type arrangement.”

Maurice Cummins of Fine Gael, said reaching agreement for Greece would create certainty for the Greek people and secure their future. “The euro zone has an obligation to Greece in this difficult time, but Greece has an obligation to itself. It certainly needs to reform the economy and return it to sustainable growth, which is not the case at the moment,” he said.