Bailout in prospect - A deal must bring reform

THE minutiae may be left to another day but it seems as close to certain as we can be that Ireland — and possibly Portugal — is on the verge of having to accept some sort of an EU bailout to try to staunch the haemorrhaging caused by our banking crisis.

As so many senior EU voices stressed yesterday this situation can no longer be seen only in an Irish context but rather as a possible threat to the eurozone.

In those dreadful circumstances we may still like to imagine ourselves sovereign but our patient and supportive EU friends may not bother even with the pretence any more. Despite assurances from one minister after another — and it is very hard to belive that those who gave them really believed them — the EU seems to be at the point every exasperated parent eventually reaches with a foolish and difficult child.