Will the Irish government be forced to hold out the begging bowl to the European Union to save its economy from crashing?

Ireland's European affairs minister Dick Roche told the programme that "there is no reason" for a bail-out, as the country's stringent austerity measures were working as planned to set the economy back on the right course.

The markets are "not reacting rationally" to problems in the Irish economy, he said, and urged European finance ministers to stand behind Ireland and introduce "logic" to the debate.

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