Taoiseach to meet possible ally Hollande

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will travel to Paris today to meet the French president who is likely to emerge as an ally to Ireland in securing a deal on bank debt.

It’s Mr Kenny’s first bilateral meeting with François Hollande, who is expected to support the notion of the ESM bailout fund bearing the cost of so-called legacy bank debt.

Mr Hollande has formed alliances with Spain and Italy on how to tackle the eurozone crisis, but has clashed with Germany.