The Public Expenditure Minister says Ireland will not be affected by the ECB's decision not to accept Greece's "junk" debt as collateral.
The move, announced by the European Central Bank last night, will make it more expensive for Greek banks to access cash - and has prompted fears of a run on the country's lenders.
Greece's new anti-austerity coalition says the announcement will not stymie its efforts to change the country's bailout conditions.
Minister Brendan Howlin says the developments are of concern - but they won't harm Ireland.
The Greek government is standing firm on pre-election promises that it would raise the minimum wage and re-hire people who have been fired from the public service, despite ECB demands that a programme of austerity continues.
The European Central Bank's announcement that it would no longer accept Greek government bonds as collateral came just hours after Mario Draghi met Greece's new Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis.
The ECB's Governing Council says it has taken the decision - to withdraw a key borrowing option for Greek banks - because it cannot be certain about a "successful" deal on Greece's €240bn bailout.
Philip Pangalos, journalist in Athens, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning, and said the government there is facing a difficult situation:
In practice, the ECB decision means banks will find it more expensive to get more cash - and it has led to fears about shortages and runs at lenders.
In a statement, the Governing Council said, "this decision does not bear consequences for the counterparty status of Greek financial institutions in monetary policy operations.
"Liquidity needs of Eurosystem counterparties, for counterparties that do not have sufficient alternative collateral, can be satisfied by the relevant national central bank, by means of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) within the existing Eurosystem rules," it added.
The move has ratcheted up the pressure on Athens, which is trying to renegotiate the strict conditions of that rescue package.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the decision will have no adverse impact, and claims its sector is fully protected.
Originally published at 7.30am
