No EU bailout request from Ireland

Ireland has made no request for an EU bailout, the European Commission confirmed today.

A spokesman in Brussels said there was a “financial backstop” available under emergency EU financing agreed last May – a €50bn fund.

But so far there has been no approach from Dublin for help with “financial stabilisation”, EC spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told a news briefing this morning.

"Yes, we are in close contact with the Irish authorities. Yes, there are concerns in the euro area about the financial stability of the euro area as a whole," Mr Altafaj Tardio said.

"But to say that there are strong pressures to push Ireland to any kind of (bailout) scheme of this kind, I think yes, this is an exaggeration."

He pointed out that Ireland’s sovereign debt is fully financed until next summer and dismissed suggestions that the Irish government is facing pressure to take advantage of EU assistance.

“The Irish authorities have made no request for financial assistance and their sovereign debt is fully financed until summer 2011” he said.

“The Commission is in close contact with the Irish authorities as you can imagine.”

The Irish financial crisis was discussed by Commission officials at brief talks in Brussels yesterday afternoon, but no conclusions were reached.

“There was a meeting, but it didn’t go late. You would expect us to be following events,” said another official.

However Fine Gael's Finance spokesperson Michael Noonan this afternoon said he believes a European intervention into our debt crisis is underway and expects matters will come to a head in the next 24 hours.

Deputy Noonan said bailout from the EU could lead to Ireland being suspended from the bond markets for up to four years.

Yesterday Enterprise Minister Batt O'Keefe dismissed international reports Ireland was under increased pressure to apply to Europe for emergency funds.

Minister O’Keeffe denied that behind-the-scenes talks have been taking place on securing a multi billion-euro rescue package from the European Financial Stability Facility.

He insisted: “We certainly haven’t looked to Europe.”

The country’s economic problems will be the focus of Brussels tomorrow and Wednesday when Finance Minister Brian Lenihan attends a meeting of EU finance ministers.

Fears are growing that Ireland’s bond market woes will spread across Europe, particularly to Portugal.

The IMF also confirmed it had not received any request from Dublin, with head Dominique Strauss-Kahn adding he thought Ireland could manage well.

The European Commission was keen to play up Ireland’s financial track record. The spokesman said: “Ireland has a good track record when it comes to fiscal adjustment. We will help Ireland get back to a deficit within 3% of GDP. We await presentation of Ireland’s four-year plan to reinforce confidence in the Irish economy”.

Any of the 16 eurozone member states can take advantage of the European Financial Stability Facility “if help is requested and if it is necessary”, in the words of a Commission official.

Meanwhile yields being charged on Irish 10-year bonds further eased this morning, to just over 8%.