Bailout 'is about the euro as well as about Ireland'

A spokesman for Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn has said the aim of the EU-IMF bailout was to stabilise the euro as much as to support the Irish economy.

Anxious not to add to market volatility as accountants from the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund continue scouring Ireland's books, the Commission spokesman insisted that there was no agreed bail-out figure on offer yet.