Ireland's finance minister, Brian Lenihan, was in Brussels tonight in an effort to clinch a deal over the toxic Anglo Irish Bank while trying to calm financial markets' fears that the government bailout could bankrupt the country.After "constructive" talks with the EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia today he heads into a conference of European finance ministers tomorrow aware that Ireland's financial system has come under intense scrutiny from the financial markets.In a rare interview on the subject of the bank, Lenihan said he was confident that the €25bn (£21bn) already pumped into the bank could be absorbed by the public purse.
Ireland's finance minister, Brian Lenihan, was in Brussels tonight in an effort to clinch a deal over the toxic Anglo Irish Bank while trying to calm financial markets' fears that the government bailout could bankrupt the country.
After "constructive" talks with the EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia today he heads into a conference of European finance ministers tomorrow aware that Ireland's financial system has come under intense scrutiny from the financial markets.
In a rare interview on the subject of the bank, Lenihan said he was confident that the €25bn (£21bn) already pumped into the bank could be absorbed by the public purse.
Lenihan said he was confident that the €25bn (£21bn) already pumped into the bank could be absorbed by the public purse.
