EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the latest news and campaign moves, squabbles and – hopefully – useful tidbits of information as we face into the 31 May Fiscal Compact referendum.

(If you just want to make up your mind by yourself, you can read TheJournal.ie’s layman’s guide to the treaty).

WHAT’S NEW?

• Macra na Feirme today explained why it decided to support the campaign for a Yes vote in the referendum, with National President Alan Jagoe saying: “Our economy is on life support at present.  A yes vote is a shot in the arm to aid its recovery.  A no vote is equivalent to pulling the plug and starving our economy of capital.”
• Lest they forget, Labour TD Gerald Nash has kindly reminded Sinn Féin about the party’s stance on the issue of the bank guarantee way back in 2008. Describing that time as a “critical moment in Ireland’s recent history,” Nash underlined that Sinn Féin had backed the guarantee at the time it was originally approved, adding: “How can we expect anybody to take  them seriously now when they got it so disastrously wrong then? “
• The Institute of International and European Affairs has created an infographic attempting to answer the ‘Billion Dollar Question’ – ie where funding for a future Irish bailout might come from in the case of it being needed.
• Ninety per cent of economists support a Yes vote, according to a report by Indecon International Economic Consultants. The Daily Business Post reports that the survey of 44 economists claims the inability to access EMS Funds if Ireland votes No is one of the most significant worries for experts.

POSSIBLE COMPROMISE OF THE DAY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be considering a compromise on debt-sharing in the eurozone, Bloomberg reports today. Merkel is under pressure at home and abroad over her refusal to allow Germany to underwrite joint debt assistance in the economic bloc. Although joint euro-area bonds still appear to be off the table for now, opposition parties in Germany appear to have gotten the Chancellor to agree to consider a different proposal on a common liabilty for sovereign debt.

CLOSE CALL OF THE DAY