Cowen defends Govt’s €4bn bailout for Anglo

The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, has defended the Government's €4bn bailout for Anglo Irish Bank in the Dáil this morning.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is currently seeking EU approval for the bailout following Anglo's announcement of €4bn losses in the six months to March this year.

The bank is also warning that it could have to write off another €3.5bn in bad loans before the end of the financial year, which would require another massive injection of taxpayers' money to keep the company afloat.

Mr Cowen insisted in the Dáil this morning that allowing the bank to go out of business would cost the taxpayer a lot more money.