Irish Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has said he expects the Irish Republic to accept a "very substantial loan" as part of an EU-backed bail-out.

Mr Honohan told RTE radio he expected the loan to amount to "tens of billions" of euros.

The final decision will be up to the Irish government, which has yet to comment.

Mr Honohan's comments come as a team of international officials meet in Dublin for further talks on the debt crisis.

Representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the EU will meet the Irish government, which has denied that it has asked for aid.

Mr Honahan said that any loan would be substantial.

"It'll be a large loan because the purpose of the amount to be advanced or to be made available to be borrowed is to show that Ireland has sufficient firepower to deal with any concerns of the market. That's the purpose of it," he told RTE.

An EU handout would be seen as a big loss of face for the Republic - essentially meaning that its survival and solvency was reliant on Brussels.

Right. Never mind that any so-called insolvency is a result of corrupt idiots giving free public money to thieves instead of spending it on useful things.