Dukes concedes Anglo bail-out may hit €39bn

THE taxpayers’ bill for bailing out Anglo Irish could be as high as €39 billion, the bank’s chairman Alan Dukes has conceded.

Mr Dukes stressed he did not think the costs would reach that level, but he is “open to correction”, when definitive figure is calculated next month as part of the splitting apart of the nationalised institution.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan initially said the bailing-out of the bank would not impact on taxpayers, but over the past two years the state losses incurred by getting involved with Anglo Irish have risen starkly to around €25bn at present, with some experts suggesting it will end up as high as €39bn.