In a bid to save the eurozone, the Irish government has finally accepted a bailout package from the EU and IMF to the tune of around 90 billion euros.

Bailing out the Celtic tiger

During a debate about the European  Central Bank’s annual report for 2009,

the rescue of the Irish economy featured,

even though ECB President Trichet  declined to mention it.  

However, European Commissioner  Olli Rehn did,

defending the roughly  €90-billion bail-out.

The programme will decisively address  the fiscal genesis of the Irish economy,

for potential future capital needs  of the banking sector.

Ireland’s economic boom  ended with a property bubble,

bankrupt construction companies,  a house price crash,

An Irish Central Bank report  accused financial regulators

of ignoring  reckless lending by Irish banks,

leaving a €35-billion hole  in the economy.  

The public finances have to be  brought into equilibrium.

and only take in 31 billion.    You can't run a household like that.

The fine details of the joint ECB-IMF  rescue are still being worked out, 

most of it will go to repaying speculators.   But most think the euro is safe.

The fiscal problems of the USA  and of Japan are much greater

than the fiscal problems of the  eurozone or of the European Union.

Unlike the Greeks and French, the Irish  are prepared to accept austerity.

European stocks initially rallied at  the news but they’ve fallen back since,

and there were warnings of  downgrading Ireland’s credit status.  