Minister for Finance Michael Noonan last night threw down the gauntlet to his ECB tormenters. "We're going to get a deal on those promissory notes," he told the Dail. "I'm almost certain of it." Insiders admitted that Noonan was on rather shaky ground. "We haven't heard a dicky bird from the ECB about any deal," said one source. "Truth be told, they've as much as told us to feck off. Several times now." Asked what Minister Noonan was playing at, the insider remarked that the canny Limerick man seemed to be playing a high-stakes poker game. "Effectively, he's got everybody's hopes up. The eurocrats can hardly say no without making him, and the entire Irish government, look very silly." A ballsy move by the Baldy one. We'll keep you posted.