The Taoiseach was warned that soldiers may have been needed to protect cash-strapped banks at the height of the financial crisis.

In an interview to be broadcast on Newstalk Lunchtime today, Defence Minister Simon Coveney says Ireland was "bust" when Fine Gael and Labour came into Government with thousands of jobs being lost every month.

He says things were so "bleak" that Enda Kenny was briefed that if banks ran out of cash, troops could be needed to surround and protect lenders.

The Minister's comments came after he was asked whether the Taoiseach was still the right man to lead Fine Gael, after Mr Kenny was heavily criticised by Newstalk Breakfast's Ivan Yates.

Mr Yates, who served as a Minister alongside Enda Kenny in the mid-1990s, compared the Taoiseach’s leadership to the Titanic and was part of the party’s ongoing problems.

Simon Coveney, himself tipped as a potential future Fine Gael leader, says Enda Kenny has led Ireland “from the floor” after years of “political mismanagement.”

Listen to the full interview here;