Kenny bids to defuse Commission row

Taoiseach Enda Kenny moved to mend bridges with the European Commission as work is due to begin in the next few weeks on details of how the EU can directly recapitalise banks.

Ireland hopes to get back some of the €28bn it put into the country’s three main banks when new structures are in place next autumn, but senior EU sources continue to pour cold water over such plans.

The Taoiseach would not confirm that the Government had asked Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn to stay away during last week’s bailout but EU sources said the Commission was upset that the Government had claimed all the credit for the successful exit without reference to the help they had received from Brussels.