Greece must implement its bailout programme fast to achieve its main aim of regaining access to market financing and escaping international supervision, re-elected leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras has said.

Europe will be able to handle future economic crises without the help of the International Monetary Fund, the head of the eurozone’s bailout fund told German magazine Der Spiegel yesterday.

Today is ‘D-Day’ for Greece as the eurogroup wait to receive and evaluate proposals from the Tsipras government for a third bailout programme.

Trinity College professor Philip Lane has joined a chorus of senior figures in criticising the decision not to burn bondholders as part of the 2010 troika bailout, saying the burden of the programme fell unfairly on Ireland.

Ireland's financial collapse was the fault of bankers, the IMF, the EU, regulators, politicians and auditors, according to the man who is now in charge of the Eurozone's bailout fund.

The causes of Ireland's banking crisis will be examined later today by the Banking Inquiry.

Ireland pays a substantially higher rate of interest on its bailout than Greece, but economists cast doubt on the country getting any further relief.

The revival of social partnership would be a real danger to the wider economy and to the jobs that depend on it, writes Gerard Howlin

The chairman of the long-awaited banking inquiry has played down concerns that it may not complete its work in the lifetime of this Dáil, but accepted that it will face "significant challenges".

Banks are to be asked to cough up some of the cost of running the banking inquiry which will examine decisions and actions of some of their top executives in the run up to the €440bn state guarantee.

Ireland no longer needs to recoup the money it paid to bank investors when the crisis hit, the head of the EU’s bailout fund has said.

The expected savings of up to €3bn in interest repayments from repaying the IMF early will have an impact on the Budget for next year, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said.

Germany’s top court has rejected lawsuits seeking to block the country’s participation in the European Stability Mechanism, a key part of the euro area’s response to the debt crisis.

The visit of ESM fund chief Klaus Regling to Dublin yesterday, and that he came in an atmosphere far less fraught than might have been the case some years ago, was informative and slightly dispiriting.

An influential member of the European Parliament has supported the Government’s efforts to get a direct recapitalisation on bank debt.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said Ireland can still cut its debt significantly without getting a deal to offload historic bank debt.

The Government has given its strongest indication yet it is willing to go it alone and reduce debt levels without help from the EU’s emergency fund in bailing out the banks.

The head of the European Stability Mechanism, Klaus Regling, says Ireland's chances of receiving retro-active recapitalisation of our banks, using the ESM, are "unlikely".

Further EU aid to lighten the weight of Ireland’s massive debts is still a possibility, the head of the body responsible for raising money for broke countries hinted as Ireland waves goodbye to its austerity programme.

The euro body that helped bail out Ireland will be checking annual budgets for decades to come to ensure enough money is set aside to repay the debt.

SHOULD there be a banking inquiry? Yes, of course there should. In fact there must be one. Should it be conducted in parliament? Yes, absolutely. We need to know what happened and how it happened — both within the banks, between the banks and the authorities, and within government. Only a parliamentary inquiry can be as revealing as we need — I’ll tell you why in a minute.

The State could end up paying more for the Irish banks if they fail the stress test next year as the bailout fund, the ESM, is ruling itself out and bailing-in the shareholders has become more acceptable.

The man in charge of the Eurozone's bailout fund said there is little hope of Ireland recouping its bank costs.

The ECB would like the Government to phase out loss-making tracker mortgages over a five-year period in an effort to return the banks to profitability.

German chancellor Angela Merkel lost no time in approaching her Socialist counterparts to agree a grand coalition government following her resounding success at the polls.

AIB faces a number of challenges over the next few years if it is to once again become a normal functioning bank that is able to transmit credit to the wider economy. It is by no means certain that this is possible, but the latest set of results show it is moving in the right direction.

Labour ministers Eamon Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte are “technically correct” that the agreement with the troika is to reach a 5.1% budget deficit target by 2014, but it will come down to a “game of poker” whether the Government will be allowed ease up on the €3.1bn in consolidation planned for October’s budget, according to UCD economics professor Karl Whelan.

Backing off from Ireland’s deficit targets for the upcoming budget could have an impact on jobs, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has rejected calls from the head of the European Stability Mechanism to adhere to a €3.1bn adjustment – insisting the Government will stick to a different target.

It is a scene that haunts the memory, the sight of the earnest Indian executive from the IMF passing a Dublin beggar on an ice cold late November’s day in 2010, on a day of national financial surrender.

THE smoking gun has been found in the debris of Anglo Irish Bank.

The head of the eurozone rescue funds, Klaus Regling, signalled he backs easier repayment terms for Ireland and Portugal, saying it may speed their return to financial markets.

Eurozone governments would only write-off part of Greece's debt in "extreme circumstances", the head of the European bailout fund, Klaus Regling, has told a German newspaper.

The issue of where Ireland might get the €31bn to replace the money it put into its banks was still up in the air as the new ESM rescue fund was officially launched in Luxembourg yesterday.

The EU's new permanent bailout fund will come into existence next Monday.

Spain will present its official request for an EU bailout for its banks over the weekend but failed to convince all eurozone countries that the loan should not have preferential creditor status — a prospect blamed for the country’s euro-era record borrowing costs.

An external consulting firm charged with evaluating the structure of Europe’s new permanent rescue facility has raised questions about whether it will have enough staff to function effectively, according to documents.

In the final part of our three-day series, Caroline O’Doherty says China’s influence is growing across the world but its leadership is increasingly aware of the need to pick its corporate battles carefully

CREDIT rating agency Fitch told the eurozone last night it thinks a comprehensive solution to the bloc’s debt crisis is beyond reach, as it put a number of the bloc’s economies including Ireland on watch for potential downgrades.

EUROPE faces a crucial 10 days to save the eurozone, after agreeing to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund but acknowledging it may have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for more help to avert financial disaster.

IN A co-ordinated move, the world’s major banks yesterday provided cheap dollar funding for Europe’s banks in what is seen as a first major step to save the single currency.

Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to increase the capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout fund.

IRELAND’S next bailout tranche of €8.5 billion was approved by eurozone finance ministers yesterday as they struggled to find a way to fund Spain and Italy, both under massive pressure from the markets.

THE prospect of technocrat-led governments in both Greece and Italy calmed markets but volatility is expected to return next week as both regimes attempt to push through austerity measures.