Irish bailout fixed at 85 bn euros, 35 bn for banks

BRUSSELS: Ireland's bailout was formally announced on Sunday at 85 billion euros (113 billion dollars), 10 billion of which is for "immediate recapitalisation" and 25 billion for contingency support to its banking sector, the head of the Euro group said.

Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, announced the deal after talks in Brussels.

Finance ministers from the 16 countries that share the euro currency, plus non-euro Britain, Denmark and Sweden, each of whom are making bilateral loans available to Dublin, "unanimously agreed today to grant financial assistance" to Ireland, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said.

The programme of loans, with 50 billion euros set aside for "covering budget financing needs," and "rests on three pillars," he said.

These are: an "immediate strengthening" of Ireland's banking system, an "ambitious fiscal adjustment" in order to bring Ireland's 32 percent of GDP annual deficit this year back within EU norms, of three percent, "by 2015," as well as broader economic reforms "in particular on the labour market."